Hunk ^B7S^~ 

PRESENTED BY 



THROUGH FANTEELAND TO 
COOMASSIE. 



THROUGH FANTEELAND 
TO COOMASSIE. 

A DIARY OF THE A8HANTEE EXPEDITION. 



BY 

FBEDEKICK BOYLE, 

f 9 

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE 1 DAILY TELEGRAPH.' 
AUTHOR OF 

CAMP NOTES,' ' TO THE CAPE FOR DIAMONDS,' ' A RIDE ACROSS A CONTINENT,' 
' ADVENTURES IN BORNEO,' ETC. ETC. 



LONDON : 

CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. 
1874. 



PRINTED BY TATLOK AND CO., 
KITTLE QUEEN STBEET, LINCOLN'S INN FJ 

GIFT 
BERTRAM SMITH 



OCT 9 1933 



PREFACE. 



This book pretends to be no history of the late war. 
To professional hands, and to hands granted more 
leisure, it should naturally fall to tell the operations, 
and to reveal the difficulties, which enhance the credit 
of victory. My work is offered to that larger class 
of readers to whom technical reports are of less 
utility than a view of the circumstances in which 
their countrymen were placed, of the daily life they 
led, and of the " seamy side " of our campaign. For 
the sake of these I have transcribed my diary, even in 
its details ; for I am very well assured that the more 
closely and intimately the English people become 
acquainted with the Gold Coast, the better will they 
see what kind of arguments are those which would 
persuade us to retain a footing there. 

It will be seen that I have corrected few errors of 
opinion, or even of prophecy. It seemed a better and a 
truer course, for the purpose I had in view, to let the 



VI 



PREFACE. 



reader see how things looked to us at the time, and 
what conclusions we drew from the events before our 
eyes. Errors in matters of fact, when they occur in 
my diary 5 I have corrected either in the text or in a 
foot note. 

If anywhere, in this work or in my published 
letters, I have offended the feelings of a single officer 
of the expedition, I beg of him to believe that it is 
done unwittingly. A wilful hurt would be the most 
ungrateful return for unvaried courtesy on the part of 
all with whom I was brought into contact. 

It remains for me only to render thanks to the 
proprietors of the 1 Daily Telegraph,' who have kindly 
allowed me to incorporate in my story such parts of 
my letters to them as seemed appropriate. 

Frederick Boyle. 

118, New Bond Street, 

May 8tk, 1874. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

AT THE WHITE MAN'S GEAVE. 

PAGE 

Sierra Leone — Street Scenes — Moslem Negroes — Opinions of Bishop 
Cheetham on the War — Government House — Captive Kings at School 
— Mr. Africanus Horton — His Eeminiscences of the War of 1863-4 — 
Our Kossu Yolunteers, their Manners, Customs, and Fetishes — Grand 
Sestros — Boarded by Kroomen — Character of this People — Formation 
of a Common Tongue by Kroomen aud Sailors — Eccentricities of this 
New Speech . 1 



CHAPTER II. 

CAPE COAST CASTLE. 

Cape C oast Castle— Passing Yiew of a Bombardment — Sir Garnet Wol- 
seley Absent in the Bush — Landing of the Kos3us — All the Gods of 
Africa Mustering against Ashantee — Women Porters — Kossu Demon- 
stration — Cape Coast Castle Traders — Their Former Magnificence — Not 
Due to Slave Trade — Steady Decline of Commerce — Gold Dust Failing 



viii 



CONTENTS. 



in Supply — Captain Thompson's Report — Our Interference the Cause 
of Decline — No Attempt to Substitute New Produce for Trade — India- 
Rubber abounds, and Gum — Ashantee Trade the Reliance of Cape 
Coast — Views from my Residence — The Family Opposite, their Occu- 
pations and Amusements — The Ashantee Cloth Trade— Return of Sir 
Garnet — Proclamation — The Fight at Dunquah — Sir Garnet's Influence 
— Appeal to Fantee Courage — The Railway Abandoned — Government 
House — Spirit of the Women — The Land Steamer in Motion . . 24 



CHAPTER III. 

THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 

art for Abrakrampa — Alarming Message — Painful March — Arrival — 
Lieut. Pollard, R.N. — Lieut. Woodgate — Narrow Escape of Mr. Pol- 
lard — The Kossus— Major Russell, Commandant — Alarums and Excur- 
sions — News from Dunquah — Mutiny of Houssas — Appearance and 
Fortification of the Town — A Dangerous Reconnaissance — Mr. Pollard 
Recalled— His Majesty of Abrakrampa — Arrival of Lieut. Bryan, R.N. 
— The Assault Begins — The Ashantee War Song — Boldness and Deter- 
mination of the Enemy — A Night Attack — Renewal of the Assault — 
Death of Two Chiefs— Charge of the 2nd W.I.— Relieved by Sir Gar- 
net — Position of the Ashantees — The Cape Coast Volunteers — They 
March Out — Hurried Retreat of the Enemy 52 



CHAPTER IV. 

AN ABANDONED CAMP. 

Naval Humours — Slaves Released — Then* Tortures and Sufferings — Sights 
in the Abandoned Camp — Fearful Odours — Our Casualties — The Loot — 
Anaanquattiah's Chair and Bedstead — Return to Cape Coast — Rally of 



CONTENTS. 



IX 



the Ashartees — Fatal Panic Amongst our Men— Firing on one Another 
— Disarming of the Fantees — The G-atling Grun — Theft at the House — 
Fetish Trials — Impotency of English Law — Secret Power of the Chiefs 
— Appeal to the Women — Arrival of Wassaw Deputation — Unwilling- 
ness of Fantees to Help TJs — Secrets of Cape Coast Trade — Illness of 
Sir Grarnet — Eazzia Amongst the Negroes — Incidents of the Fray — My 
Cook — Disastrous Triumph — News from Captain Glover — Start for the 
Front — Stupor of Sleep in Negro Children — A Night at Asseyboo — 
Pleasures of the Bivouac in West Africa — Colonel Evelyn Wood — 
Akroful — Accommodation there — Fireflies — Eats — The Commander — 
Kossu Arrogance — Dunquah — History of this Camp . . . .89 

CHAPTER V. 

HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 

Dunquah Camp — Absence of Vermin in West Africa — No Mosquitos, 
Fleas, Ticks, B's — Few Snakes — The Morning Parade — Disarming of 
Levies — Procession of a King — His Intents and Purposes — A Convoy 
of Women — Ashantee Prisoners — Houssa Recruiting — Colonel Festing 
— Examination of Amanquattiah's Staff Officer — The Names and Tribes 
Opposed to Us — Incredible Extent of Ashantee Sovereignty — Move- 
ments of the Enemy — The Fetish Tree of Dunquah — Test of Faith 
— Lieutenant PoDard, E>. N. — News of Kings and Princes — Lieutenant 
Mann, R.E., the Road Maker — Yancoomassie Fantee — Turning out the 
"Villagers — Another Deluge — 111 Requited Charity — Cotton Trees — 
Mansu Camp and Fort — Captain Butler — Disheartening Account of the 
Akims — A Night March — Incredible Insolence of Sierra Leone Carriers 
— Major Home's Reconnaissance — Fortunate Treachery of Guides — 
Amanquattiah's Brother Captured 135 

CHAPTER VI. 

A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



The Check at Faisoo — Loss of Baggage — Lieutenant Pollard's Escape — 



X 



CONTENTS. 



The Truth about Addismadi — Restored Courage of Ashantees— The 
Return March — Death of Lieutenant Grey, E.M.— -Heavy Rains — Cap- 
tain Rait, R.A. — Our Cannibal Recruits — Their Customs — The Three 
Cannibal Ju-jus of Bonny— Wealth of Ornament in Cape Coast — Skill 
of Natives in Medicine — A Fantee Hair Dye — Filliter and his Ham- 
mock Men — Yisit to Elmina — A Vision of Fairyland — The Castle and 
Town — Captain Helden — Slave Questions — Ashantee Oaths — Arrival of 
c Himalaya ' and ' Tamar ' — They go for a Three-Weeks' Cruise — Our 
Scouts Reach the Prah — Captain Buller's Yisit — Review of Ashantee 
Prisoners — Start for the Prah — Akroful — The Fight of the Doctor and 
the Tarantula — Desperate Engagements — Final Triumph of the Doctor 
— Appearance and Character of the Tarantula — Other Spiders — An 
Unknown Species — Roadside Camps —Diseases of Women — The Sutah 
Lily— Life with Captain Fowler — Ashantee Camps — Barraco — Assin 
Burial-place Plundered by Ashantees . . . . 



CHAPTER VII. 



ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PRAH. 



A Run across the River — My Cannibal Crew — Lieut. Grant and the 
Scouts — Contrast between the . Opposite Banks — A Busy Camp — 
Preparing for the White Troops — Remains of the Redoubt built in 
1863 — The River Prah — An Ashantee Bridge — Loss of Life — Ghastly 
Sights — Quantity of Canoes — The Suspension Bridge— Numbers of 
the Enemy — Wood's Regiment — Intended Movements — A Strange 
Night Scene — Electric Fish — Droll Compliment to Russell's Regiment 
— Night March — Lieutenant Knox, RA. — Lieutenant Mann, R.E. — 
The Officers Attached to Captain Butler — Colonel Colley — Captain 
Glover's Movements Announced — My Bearers Bolt — Touching Scene 
oa the Road — Kola Nuts — Christmas Day in Cape Coast Castle — 



CONTENTS. 



xi 



Departure of Sir Garnet and Staff, with the Naval Brigade, for 
Coomassie — Attack on Chaniah — Wailing of the Women — New 
Faces — Death of Mr. Charteris and Lieutenant Wells, R.K\ — Memo- 
randum for the Guidance of the Troops — Arrival of 1st W.I. 
Regiment — Their Absurd Uniform — The Gatling Returns — Death of 
Captain Townsend — Complaints of the Women Carriers — Astonishing 
Loyalty of Elmina — Landing of the Rifles— Interruption of the Tele- 
graph — Wholesale Desertion of Fantees — Rumours from Ashantee — 
Captain Butler's Proceedings 210 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE CAMP AT THE PRAH. 

Sixty Hours Asleep — A Sudden Awakening — Wood's Regiment Trans- 
formed into Carriers — Gambling at Barraco — Prahsu — A Changed Scene 
— Incredible Loss amongst Engineers — Lord Gifford takes Command 
of the Scouts — The Ashantee Envoys ; suicide and Burial of the 
Younger — Curious Custom — A Brush with the Scouts — The Deadlock 
on the Road — Treachery of Kings and Chiefs — Death of a 2nd W.L 
Soldier under his Load — The Naval Brigade at Work — Advance of 
Major Russell — The Envoys and their Cannibal Guard — The Harmattan 
Wind — Experiments in Gun Cotton with Major Lome — Leopards on 
the Trail — Medical Comforts arrive — Surgeon R. W. Lowe — The 
Alligator and the Elephant — Alarm of Fire — Kossu Savagery — A 
Snake under the Chair — Arrival of Mr. Kiihne — Colonel Webber 
crosses the Prah — Interview with Mr. Kiihne — Life of Prisoners in 
Coomassie — Preaching — Return of Amanquattiah's Army — Its Losses — 
Fall of the Fetish Tree — Majestic Appearance of the King — The Queen 
Mother — Decline of the Ashantee Power — False Returns of Popu- 
lation — The Sacred Treasure — The War Record of Coomassie — Govern- 
ment a mere Despotism — The 42nd Regiment carries its Baggage — The 
23rd recalled from Akroful — Treatment of Correspondents — Weari- 
ness of the Camp — Resolve to Start for Outposts .... 239 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



A Camp in the Forest — Distinctions between a Bivouac and a Picnic — 
Occupation of Adausi Hill — Quisa Abandoned — Fetishes — Attobiassi— 
Essiaman — Effumusu Halt — Akrofoomuh — A Refugee — Orders to 
Advance — The King's Road — Trouble about Food — Colonel McLeod to 
the Front — Moynsey Camp — Colonel Wood there — Climb the Adansi 
Hill — Reflections upon the Climate — Neither Man nor Beast will Live 
— Our Adansi Camp — Reports and Rumours — Quisa — The Joss-house 
— Handsome Ornamentation — Flowers and Foliage in the Tropics — A 
Theory about the Brazilian Bee — The Remaining Prisoners pass 
through — News from Coomassie — Amanquattiah degraded — King of 
Mampon new Generallissimo— Humanity of King Koffee — Royal 
Women of Ashantee — The Great Basin in the Market-place a Measure 
of Tribute — Former Oppressions of the Ashantees — The Attack of 
King Graman — Butler's Advance causing Alarm — War Chiefs refuse 
to fight him — The General passes the hill, with the Rifles — Adventure 
of Captain Gordon — An Impaled Slave — Stupid Discourtesy at the 
Post-office, Cape Coast — The 42 crosses —The Commander malingering 
— Farewell to the Adansi Camp 281 



CHAPTER X. 

FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



Attack on Adobiassi — Our Cannibals Suspected— March to Madoona with 
the Naval Brigade— Captain Grubbe— Captain Luxmore— Fetish Trees 
—Join Major Russell — Panic among the Kroomen — Akhankuassi— An 
Ashantee Abandoned— The Townsmen ordered to Coomassie— The 



CONTENTS. 



xiii 



Royal Hareem sent to Djuabin — Work for the Engineers— An Ashantee 
Convoy taken — Madoona again — March to Borborassi — The Attack — 
Death of Captain Nicol — Attacked in onr Turn — The Road Occupied 
by Ashantees — A Runner Killed — The Loot — Extraordinary Lamp 
taken by Lieutenant Deane, R.M. — Twelve Kegs of Powder Captured 
— The Prisoners — Their Fear of the Ashantees — Gallant Attack on our 
Retiring Column — Final Charge — Treachery of the King — The Enemies' 
Position — Disposition of our Troops — The Fight — Taking of Amoaful 
by the 42nd — Attack upon the Naval Brigade — The Kossu Advance — 
Ashantees Retire along our Flank — Fire on the Wounded — Assault on 
Quahman — Panic amongst the Carriers — A Wakeful Night for the 
Rifles — Amoaful — Stores collected there — Excellent Service of Rait's 
Artillery — Great Slaughter — Death of Amanquattiah — Burning of 
Bequoi — The 23rd ordered up — Escapes of the General and Dr. Fegan, 
R.N. — Loss of Baggage — Predicament of the P.M.O. — Sights in the 
Town — Wholesale Slaughter by a Shell — Advance from Amoaful — 
News of Captain Butler — Colonel Webber left as Commandant — 
Skirmishing all along the March — Every Post in the Rear Attacked — 
Foomanah Hospital in Danger — Colonel Colley " Stops it " — Agimmanu 
— Confusion in Camp — A Dash for Coomassie ordered — Baggage left 
Behind— A Flag of Truce— The King finds we Fight too Quick— The 
Dah River — Courage of three Ashantee Stragglers — Heavy Rain and 
Great Discomfort — The Battle of Adahsu — Capture of the "Village — 
Baggage Ordered Across — A Narrow Shave — Death of Lieutenant 
Eyre — Note from Sir A. Alison — The Ashantees give Way — A Rush 
for the Capital — Coomassie Taken v . 310 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE METROPOLIS OF MURDER. 

Coomassie— The Frames in the Market-place — The Queen Mother's Em- 
bassy — Mr. Dawson's Boy arrives — Alarm caused by Refugees — The 
General's Quarters — Post of the Naval Brigade and of Rait's Artillery 



xiv 



CONTENTS. 



— Looting by the Natives — Hanging of a Policeman — Architecture and 
Appearance of the Town — The Palace — Contents— The King's Bed- 
chamber — His Golden Stool — Inventory of Royal Treasures — The 
Aristocratic Quarter — Manners and Customs of Ashantee Ladies — 
Publicity of Life — The Reek of Murder — Customs of Dahomey and 
Ashantee compared — The Market-place — Friendliness of Townspeople 
Remaining — The Fallen Fetish Tree — The Royal Cellar — War Drums, 
Man Baskets, and Horns — The Smell of Coomassie — The Charnel- 
house — Monotonous Murder — The Wounded sent back — Koffee 
Kalcalli's Promise — Suspicious Behaviour of Mr. Dawson — Orders 
Issued to Advance — Tremendous Rain — Prize Agents go to the 
Palace at Midnight — A Curious Diary Discovered — Incidents therein 
— Burning of Coomassie 342 



CHAPTER XII. 

DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 

Fording the Swamp— A Flooded Track — Dha Bridge Submerged— Long 
Halts and Delays — Agimmanu again— Heavy Rain — Travelling with 
Wounded — Our Prisoners — A Prince of Ashantee — His Fine Manner — 
The Story of Capt. Butler's Invasion — Shameful Desertion of Akims — 
March in the Darkness — Alarms Unexpressed — Amoaful Levelled — Mr. 
Dawson and his Baggage— Suspected Spies — The Six Heroes of Was- 
saw — Adansi Proposes to Capitulate — A Hammock for Our Prince — 
All Tillages Burnt — Gigantic Worms — The King of Adansi's Palace — 
His Application for Terms — Sir Garnet Arrives — Koffee Calcalli wants 
Peace — Superior J udgment of the King overruled by his Fetish Men — 
Attacks upon the Road — A Private 2nd W.I. loses his Head— Engi- 
neer Wounded — On to Quisa — Lieut. Richmond ill — Akrofoomuh — 
The Control Service— Capt. Glover's Expedition— Cool Disregard of 
the Ashantees for his Force — Gallant Ride of Capt. Sartorius — Utter 
Destruction of Coomassie — Col. Festing at Prahsu — Patrol Adventure 
• — 1040 oz. of Gold arrive from the King — 23rd Regiment leaves in the 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



^Tamar' — Eeturn of Sir Garnet — Great Enthusiasm — Reception at 
Government House — Feminine Demonstrations — The Loot on View — 
The First Day's Sale— Droll Incidents — Silks and Cloths — The King's 
Bracelets — His Caps of State — A Gold Mask — The King's Knife — 
Necklaces — Stools, Silver Bound — The Eoyal Plate Chest — Sir C. McC- 
arthy's Tankard — Chief Executioner's Girdle — The King's Pictures — 
African High Art — Aggry and Popo Beads — The Silver Casket — The 
Departure — A Government Begging — Adventures on Board the 'Benin' 
—The Fires put out— Towed into Port 360 



Appendix 



397 



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9 

THROUGH FANTEELAND 
TO COOMASSIE. 

CHAPTEE I. 

AT THE WHITE MAN'S GKRAVE. 

Sierra Leone — Street Scenes — Moslem Negroes — Opinions of Bishop Cheetham 
on the War — Government House — Captive Kings at School — Mr. Afri- 
canus Horton — His Eeminiscences of the War of 1863-64— Our Kossu 
Volunteers, their Manners, Customs, and Fetishes — Grand Sestros — 
Boarded by Kroomen — Character of this People — Formation of a Com- 
mon Tongue by Kroomen and Sailors— Eccentricities of this new 
Speech. 

S. S. Liberia, off Sierra Leone, 

October 21st, 1873. 

After a voyage as pleasant as ever good ship made, when 
commanded by good officers, and favoured by good weather, 
we have reached this lovely port. " The white man's grave 
it has been called, and too many mourners at home for- 
bid me to challenge the accusation. But what a charm- 

B 



2 



AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE. 



ing spot, and how charming, on this day at least, the 
climate! It is an old belief that consumption selects the 
loveliest of womankind, the gentlest and best-loved, to make 
its victims. Even so the fever which decimates the popula- 
tion of this shore appears to choose the fairest scenes to 
dwell in. Where distant mountains rise most purple, where 
smooth seas creep without a ripple to the sand, where green 
is greenest and vegetation most diversified, where grass is 
like an emerald and flowers blow free, there look for cluster- 
ing graves, and listen always for the knell. There's not a 
scene to which wide travel has introduced me more soft, 
more pleasing than the view of Sierra Leone from the bar- 
racks. 

The town does not lie flat, though it clusters along the 
shore. Wide creeks, or broken river-dells, divide it. The 
palm-thatched huts, which shelter its fourteen thousand 
souls, have tones of softest brown. Between their lines are 
grassy tracks, scarred with red sand, twelve yards in width. 
The huts stand accurate in rows, but behind each is a 
little orchard, bright with banana-trees, olive with mangos, 
shadowed by great tamarinds and cocoa-palms and cotton- 
trees and bread fruit. The principal streets are avenues 
bordered by large-leaved trees. In the narrower ways a 
ceaseless crowd of people comes and goes, brilliant of colour, 
noisy, laughing, chaffering, eager, each soul, to make itself 
admired, or, at least, conspicuous. Small open shops, 
without visible door or shutter, line the street. On the 



STREET SCENES. 



3 



rail of them are displayed the handkerchiefs of silk and 
cotton, gaudy always, the dress stuffs, the rubbishing bright 
ornaments, and all the showy trash by which the guileless 
Ethiopian is ensnared. Along the roadway before these sheds 
a line of women squat, with little open baskets of dried fish 
before their knees, or heaps of fruit and vegetables. As in 
the West Indies, so here, every soul puts up something to 
trade, and all the same articles, and yet the little world exists, 
not too miserably. How it can be so I have often wondered, 
for the eternal laws of nature seem to be against the possibility. 
Perhaps as all the stock-in-trade of these small merchants 
consists of eatables, they each consume their own supply at 
nightfall, and so creep on through life, profitless and purpose- 
less, but unalterably merry. 

I am pleased to find that the native taste of these blaok 
people has successfully resisted the attempt to clothe them in 
European fashion. No object is more ludicrous to view than 
a negro gorgeously attired in our dress, and none more hideous 
than a black woman in bonnet and gown. Decency is attended 
to in Sierra Leone, but it is possible to fulfil all the require- 
ments of modesty without induing one article of our ward- 
robe. A loose gown reaching to the knees, a brilliant hand- 
kerchief round head and waist, a string or two of beads, and 
a few ornaments to tinkle and flutter, make up a costume for 
both man and woman most picturesque and useful. Amongst 
groups thus attired, the jacket and trousers, the tight frock, 
the hat and bonnet of Europe — all most infamously dirty — 

b 2 



4 



AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRA VE. 



call attention for the prize of supreme ugliness. But other 
fashions are seen in Sierra Leone. Stalking like a Bedouin 
through the crowd; with scornful mien and scowl upon his 
face, passes a tall Mandingo, in long blue robe, wide sleeves, 
tight sash, tarboosh, and rattling charms on every limb. No 
need to ask the faith he boasts. In every country of the 
Eastern world you will recognize that swaggering gait and 
scowling eye. A Moslem indeed is the Mandingo, of whose 
tribe there are some thousands here, dwelling by themselves 
on the far side of a ravine, where washerwomen cluster, and 
dance and sing with most improper gestures, amongst the 
pebbles at the bottom. A lovely ravine is that, lined with soft 
ferns, and creeping plants of fleshy leaf, and golden-flowering 
cassia. Great cocoa palms spring from its sides ; their polished 
grass-green leaves glitter against the olive background of the 
mangos, and the rough fingers of the bread-fruit. I met an 
Arab also, in robes of silk and woven gold. He carried a 
little spear, adorned with fluttering tufts of silk; behind him 
stalked a half-score of Mandingos, sullenly respectful to a 
white face when consecrated by the faith of Islam. But I 
would not be unjust to these black Mahomedans. By all ac- 
counts they confine their fanaticism to mere looks, and are as 
quiet and peaceful, when left alone, as good citizens should be. 
It is impossible to avoid comparison of them with the 
Christian negro, and, in appearance, they undoubtedly are 
superior. 

I was most anxious to learn tidings of the German mis- 



DR. CHEETHAM ON THE WAR. 



sionaries, now so long prisoners in Coomassie, and, with that 
object, I paid my first visit to the Bishop. In the course of 
breakfast, I had much pleasant conversation with his lordship, 
who, however, could give little news about the war. He ap- 
peared to think that the project of a Fantee confederation on 
the Gold Coast had been injudiciously treated by our autho- 
rities, conceiving that it might have proved of no small service 
in this attack of the Ashantees, had it been carried out. But 
the vacillation of our conduct had spoiled the maturing scheme. 
After the arbitrary repression of Mr. Salmon, who summarily 
sent the chief promoters to prison for conspiracy, came the 
system of Mr. Pope Hennessy, who encouraged the Fantee 
chiefs so far that they actually demanded a large sum of 
money for the purposes of the federation. This was of course 
refused, and the project fell through, of which the consequence 
was that the Ashantees descending found their enemies, as of 
old, a mere disunited group of villages and tribes. I asked 
Dr. Cheetham whether he feared, as do some, that the ultimate 
result of this war might be the withdrawal of England from 
West Africa. He replied that the thought had not occurred 
to him. T asked what had been the loss of life in Sierra Leone 
during the epidemic of this year ? He believed it to have 
been sixteen in a population of about one hundred white 
persons ; this, however, was amongst the residents only ; on 
ship-board there had been a great mortality. This year has 
been exceptional all along the coast. I observed that, as it 
was stated to me, the merchants of those rivers not under 



6 



AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRA VE. 



English protection, excepting such as the Consul and cruising 
men-of-war can give, did not at all desire to be brought 
under authority ; that they found the laws of human nature, 
self-interest, common sense, and mutual jealousy, quite 
sufficient to secure their safety and their interests ; that such 
troubles as these of the Ashantee and Fantee quarrel could 
not affect England, were she untrammelled by any protectorate. 
The bishop replied that he was not able to discuss this matter 
from purely interested views. He conceived that England and 
America had been gifted by providence with great qualities 
and great opportunities, for a special purpose — the benefit of 
the human race. And, from a higher motive than commer- 
cial interests, he should protest against the withdrawal of Eng- 
land from the prosecution of her duty. I inquired whether 
there was danger to the people of Sierra Leone, mostly 
Christian, and partially civilised, from any pagan race of con- 
querors like the Ashantees. He replied that he did not much 
fear invasion. Was it, then, that the proselytes we had ob- 
tained at such an awful expenditure of life, and such a vast 
cost of money, could not be trusted to retain their faith if left 
to their own government ? He answered that the experiment 
would not be justifiable. In regard to the missionaries of 
Coomassie, I learned that they had lately been allowed partial 
liberty, with the permission to preach. They are both German 
Protestants, and are married. There is also a Frenchman 
confined with them, of whom no tidings have been heard these 
many months. 



GO VERNMENT HOUSE. 



7 



From the bishop's pleasant dwelling, embosomed in fine 
trees, where one hears always the wash of waves upon the 
cliff below, I walked through green lanes and grass-grown 
streets, to Government House. In the sun it was terribly 
hot, but a fresh breeze cooled the hill where Mr. Berkeley has 
his residence. This is a handsome building, very large and 
airy inside, with verandahs and bow windows, which make it 
quite picturesque. His Excellency has no better information 
than other people here, and, as is natural, he has much less 
of it. By the last mail not a line had reached him. He was 
disinclined to believe the alarming rumours of an Ashantee 
advance, which are circulating with full credit in the town. 
Learning that I wished to see the King of Elmina, kept 
prisoner here, he most kindly sent a servant with me to his 
residence, in the house of the Government interpreter, Mr. 
Lawson. I found the advantage of this courtesy on arrival, 
for the King is most properly forbidden to hold converse with 
any one who could give him news from the Gold Coast. 

Mr. Lawson's is a small, two-storied house, approached, 
like most others of its class, through a high, stuccoed arch- 
way. In the little courtyard within, a dozen natives lounged 
or stood. On every step of the narrow wooden staircase, 
which leads, from the outside, to the upper floor, squatted 
one or two more. On the little landing, and, apparently, to 
guard the interior, were half-a-dozen, all tall fellows, clad in 
long blue gowns. I understood that these were retainers and 
gossips of the captive king. Mr. Lawson did not chance to 



8 AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRA VE. 

be at home, but I was received by a courteous assistant, black 
of course, who informed me of the rules to be observed in 
addressing his prisoner. The house in which our regal 
prisoner is confined, has three tiny reception rooms on the 
first floor, all stuffed with stuffy furniture. I found an arm 
chair, broken in the springs, chintz- covered, in the window 
place of the second cupboard. A moment after entered the 
king, a superb savage. He wore no ornaments. His dress 
consisted of a snowy cotton cloth, falling in stately folds from 
shoulder to ankle. Finer specimen of the human animal I 
never saw. His height is unusual, and his port most majestic. 
In age I should take him to be thirty years or so. Black as 
black can be, is the King of Elmina, with large, resolute eyes, 
and glistening teeth. Uncovering one ebon shoulder, he shook 
hands, and sat in a low chair over against me. " Why are 
you here V 3 I asked, by way of opening the conversation. 
"Me no sabey !" he replied, with an angry flash of eyes and 
teeth. " Same he always say," observes our quiet interpreter, 
who stands between, a living link of communication ; for, so 
small is the stuffy room, the interpreter's limbs, on either 
side, touch the king and me. " He doesn't know what he 
has done?" I ask. "No," exclaims the prisoner, "no 
man tell me. Black man ask bad man true what they say ! 
English man no ask me. I no sabey what I done — no sabey 
why take me away from my people \" " Who accused you ?" 
I continue ; but the interpreter's services are necessary for 
this long word. " He say men talked behind his back to 



OUR KOSSU VOLUNTEERS. 



9 



Col. Harley, at Cape Coast, and then the soldiers came and 
took him away from his town and people. — That all !" 
" What men — black or white ?" " Black," answers the 
interpreter, and " Black — black V s exclaims the king, with 
such suppressed fury in his expressive face, that I felt a sin- 
cere pity for those enemies of his, supposing his savage 
majesty should get loose. Such a fierce, clever, cruel, face 
he has, and such a supple, leopard-like body, Col. Harley 
would need no better justification of the arrest than just a 
glance of the prisoner. 

From the accounts we have at this place, Sir Garnet 
Wolseley's recruiting has been most unfortunate hitherto. 
On the Gambia, he has not been able to raise one man. 
Lieut. Gordon, of the 93rd Highlanders, has been disap- 
pointed in getting but a hundred and fifty volunteers amongst 
the Kossus — I do not guarantee the spelling — of Waterloo, 
about twenty-five miles from this place, up the river. We 
are to have the pleasure of taking aboard eighty of these wild 
fellows. The folks of Sierra Leone will be sincerely glad to 
be rid of them, for they have been making the tropic night 
unbearable with dances in the street, and yells, and songs, 
and tummy-tumming. I must do our allies the justice to 
say that no worse charge is brought against them, and they 
are believed to be good fighting material, but very, very wild. 
Of the recruiting amongst the Houssas we have no news. 
Sierra Leone itself has contributed near five hundred men, 
mostly volunteers for the transport service. Of fighting men 



AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE. 



something between one and two hundred, from whom, indeed,, 
no great feats of bravery are expected. The head of the 
" Sailors' Mission " has just informed me that all the rowdies 
and objectionable people of the town have gone to Cape 
Coast. The impression is prevalent in this place, that Sir 
Garnet has not, nor can reasonably expect, more than 
2,000 men to repel the new invasion, excluding his white 
troops, and including the West Indian regiment. Sierra 
Leone has but half a company of black soldiers, with one 
officer. 

In the fine barracks, situated above the town, where these 
fifty men dwell, are kept the few prisoners whom we have 
hitherto captured. The people of the town call them 
Ashantees, but they lay no claim to that proud title. I find 
them to be Secundee men, — mere rebels. The King of 
Elmina never took the oath of allegiance, and he refuses to 
do so now. The King of Secundee did so, and then began 
fighting. Negroes of a low type are these prisoners, short of 
stature, with stupid and repulsive features. Amongst the 
seven when I visited them, was the king Maki. A contrast 
was he to the savage monarch of Elmina ! I saw on this 
occasion a little grizzled fellow, with a stubbly white beard ► 
His prison home is with a fellow "king" in a hut up 
the mountain. This little decrepit sovereign is learnings 
to read and write, together with his martial subjects,, 
under tuition of a tiny negro boy, armed with those 
dreadful implements, as it must seem to these poor 



MR. AFRICANUS H OR TON. 



ii 



savages, a square of slate and a pencil. Most amusing 
it was to see the child's impatience of our interruption of the 
studies. He was rather a pretty boy, very bright-eyed, and 
with a skin like satin. As we left, he tapped his slate im- 
periously, and the grey-bearded pupils slipped their clothes 
over the shoulder — uncovered for respect to us, as their custom 
is — and settled down to the childish task. 

S. S. Liberia, off Monrovia, 

October 24th, 1873. 

In Sierra Leone I was so fortunate as to make acquaint- 
ance with Mr. Africanus Horton, one of the surviving officers 
who took part in the Ashanti expedition of 1864. Now, 
when the attention of all England is fixed upon this coast, it 
is needless to remind any reader that the expedition of 1864 
never fulfilled the object for which it was sent. But the party 
which Mr. Horton accompanied travelled a great way along 
the route we have to take, and his reminiscences have con- 
siderable interest on that account. The causes of the former 
war are as mysterious or as simple as that of to-day. The 
King of Ashantee complained of broken treaties, of slaves 
detained, of promises unfulfilled, just as now; perhaps in both 
cases it was merely a savage restlessness which set his hordes 
in motion. His exclusion from the seaboard, and from first- 
hand dealing with the traders is, I am sure, the merest 
pretext. But the Kings of Ashantee are, by tradition, 
temperament, and necessity, fighting monarchs ; and it 



AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE. 



may well he that we only waste time in speculating as 
to their motives. In 1863 the then king descended simul- 
taneously upon our settlements, and those of the Dutch. The 
Ashantee march, however, was considerably to the eastward of 
their present line. Advancing from Coomassie, they crossed 
the Boosum Prah at Ayudi, and thence descended in two 
columns, the one easterly by Swaidroo, the other due south. 
They met at Essicoomah, where the Fantees had assembled, 
and where they met with some resistance. The Ashantees 
resorted to their usual strategy, outflanked, and defeated their 
foes. The Fantees rallied at Bobbiscoomah, whither the 
pursuers followed them, and were again victorious. After 
this there „was no more resistance, and the Ashantee king 
harried the entire country east of the Arinissa river, as far as 
the frontier of his allies, the Akuapim. Colonel Conran 
meanwhile arrived at Cape Coast Castle with the 4th West 
India regiment. Preparations occupied him from July to 
December, 1863. On the 5th of that month he started from 
the depdt at Mansu, with all the 4th regiment, W. L, detach- 
ments of the 2nd and 3rd, and a number of volunteers 
from the Gold Coast Artillery ; in all about 1600 men. The 
Ashantees had not thought it needful to await his advance ; 
loaded with spoil and prisoners they had long since withdrawn 
to their own country, or, at least, had retired from his line of 
march. Without any semblance of opposition the little force 
advanced to Prahsu, the crossing place of the Prah river. 
Thither, after some delay, Colonel Conran proceeded, looked 



ETHNOLOGY OF THE COAST. 



around, reconnoitred the woods and swamps, found no 
Ashantees, and retired to Cape Coast, after ten days' stay with 
his devoted army. The miseries that ensued have left a vivid 
impression on Mr. Horton. The camp was fearfully un- 
healthy, even for this pestilential climate. The river over- 
flowed. The rainy season came on. The soldiers, who had 
started full of spirit for the sack of Coomassie, sickened under 
their inaction. Out of two hundred men in Mr. Horton's 
personal charge, one hundred and one were helpless at the 
same time. The loss of life he describes as awful. Not till 
June of 1864 was the camp broken up, and in all those months 
no Ashantee had shown himself. 

After this slight sketch of an ill-devised, ill- executed war, 
I obtained from my informant many details about the 
country, not uninteresting to record. I should mention by the 
bye, that Mr. Horton has not yet been presented to Sir 
Garnet Wolseley, being invalided just before his Excellency's 
arrival, but he returns to the Gold Coast on the 12th of next 
month. Sir Garnet, however, has his sketches and charts 
of the route to Prahsu, and they should be very serviceable. 
I inquired first about the ethnology of the Coast, and learned 
that the Ashantees and Fantees are of kindred blood. An 
Ashantee, though the languages are not identical, can easily 
understand a Fantee. There is a great difference in accent. 
It is within historical memory that the power of our foes has 
been established, from a small beginning. How far to the in- 
terior, and on either hand, that power extends no one has the 



AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE. 



means of judging. On the south-east its boundary is known, 
but even those independent tribes which march along its fron- 
tier are closely allied with the Ashantee king. Mr. Horton has 
no doubt at all that he can call 100,000 men to the field, but 
a very large proportion of them would be indifferently armed. 
Twenty thousand, those dwelling round Coomassie, might 
have trade guns and machetes ; twenty thousand more might 
have machetes and no guns ; the remainder would, probably, 
prove to be mere naked savages from the interior, bearing 
only bows and native weapons. I learn that the Ashantee 
is not a tall man, but, on the contrary, shorter than the 
tribes of the coast, who are, mostly, of superb proportions. 
He is lean and wiry, but distinguished for courage. 
The king and the superior chiefs are notably distinct from 
the rank and file. They have tall and brawny figures, skins 
fair by comparison, and a look strikingly martial. It is fear 
of his own chieftain that makes the Ashantee so terrible to the 
enemy. As well die by the sword in front as the sword 
behind, is a saying amongst them. The Fantees, indeed, have 
never been able to make a fight when engaged face to face, 
and they are not able to resist the inevitable movement towards 
their flank and rear. Thus, in the present war, they lost the 
battle of Yan-Coomassie, defeated in the moment of victory. 
By the bye, I should mention, for the guidance of those who 
are studying the map, that there are three Coomassies on our 
probable line of march, all marked on the chart ; to wit, 
a small Fantee village about twenty miles north of Cape 



OPINION ABOUT COOMASSIE. 15 



Coast Castle, Yan-Coomassie ten miles further, and Coomassie 
the Golden, about 170 miles inland. Mr. Horton informs me 
that our government maps are incorrect as to distances. By 
the report of traders the march from Prahsu to the Ashantee 
capital is longer than from the Castle to Prahsu, though 
represented to us as considerably shorter. 

I asked about the nature of the country to be traversed, 
and learned that from the coast as far as Dunquah, where the 
Eantees are reassembling, it is tolerably open. Thence to 
Prahsu dense bush ensues ; and bush almost more dense from 
the river to within fifteen miles of Coomassie. The capital 
stands in the midst of plantations and open ground. My 
informant, in the course of many years service ou the coast as 
Medical Officer and Commandant of Secundee, has conversed 
with hundreds of Ashantees ; and I enquired from him 
what was his opinion about the town. He replied that 
Coomassie was, beyond a question, very much richer than 
other native towns of this coast. The Ashantees do not dig 
gold themselves, nor will they even pick up dust or coins that 
fall by accident, believing that such are jealously appropriated 
by the ground-fetish ; but they have no scruple in making 
slaves work for them. The population, however, Mr. Horton 
estimates at a bare 15,000 souls. At most times of the year 
there are one or more great chiefs attending the king, whose 
retinues swell the town folk by five, or even ten, thousand, 
but the resident population is exceeded by many native settle- 
ments by no means so important or pretentious. I inquired 



1 6 AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE. 



about that stone palace described by Bowditch, the object of 
so much derision amongst merchants and traders of this coast. 
I am informed that the stone palace, with its courtyards, 
walls, etc., is a great fact. Early in this century the Ashan- 
tees penetrated to the sea, and took the town of Cormantine, 
where the only masons of this shore dwell in the neighbour- 
hood of their quarries. The king carried off all these artificers, 
with a sufficient supply of hewn stone to build his much 
be-ridiculed palace. And there it stands to this day, but 
considerably dilapidated. 

We are carrying with us seventy-nine recruits for Sir G. 
Wolseley, the collection of Mr. Gordon, 93rd Highlanders. 
The most of them are Kossus, from the neighbourhood of 
Waterloo, on the Sierra Leone river. Less promising ma- 
terial was never seen. They are mere savages, but appear to 
possess but a small proportion of the savage virtue — bravery ; 
appear, I say, for one is often deceived in this matter. They 
have two chiefs, one elderly, dressed in an old blue gown, 
and one who bears the insignia of command in shape of 
a ju-ju helmet. Such a wonderful piece of furniture is this ! 
Its framework is wicker, covered with bullock hide, hair 
outwards. Four little sheep's horns are fixed therein, bands 
of stamped leather encircle it, and charms dangle from the 
crown. It has two long lappets depending, also of stamped 
leather, but prettily embroidered with cowrie shells. The 
shape is that of a chimney pot, the height eighteen inches, 
and the smell deadly. This chief commands the Sierra 



KOSSU RECRUITS. 



i7 



Leone detachment, the English-speaking, civilized (!), school- 
taught recruits. It is amongst these we find the fire-eaters, 
the war-dancers, the screamers at midnight, the tum- 
tummers, the sword-practisers, the plagues of the vessel. 
What a lot of Ashantee heads they will cut off, to be sure, if 
only all promises are kept ! But our sailors forward loudly 
profess their willingness to eat every decapitated foe. A 
vessel laden like ours never yet sailed the sea, I should think. 
Besides the seventy-nine warriors, we are carrying forty 
bullocks on deck, and no man knows how many barrels of 
provisions for the force. Add to these thirty-five Kroo boys, 
engaged, as is usual, to relieve the white sailors in this 
hot climate. At Grand Sestros, without discharging a single 
soul, we expect to take aboard at least fifty more Kroomen. 
There will not, in sober fact, be room for the crowd to stand 
even, when our tale is complete. The forecastle is a steaming 
mass of black flesh already. Most creditable is it to the 
officers appointed by the British and African S. S. Company 
that with such an unusual cargo, there should have been not 
one disturbance, except a trifling affray on the first night, 
when the blacks had not yet slept off their liquor. More than 
that, there are no complaints on any hand, barring a good- 
natured grumble from the crew. It is not, fortunately, 
an English practice to give a man praise for doing his duty, 
but I should not be doing mine if I failed to notice the 
excellent management, tact, and temper of Captain Lowrie 
and all his officers under most trying circumstances. Though, 

c 



18 AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRA VE 



as I have said, it is scarce possible to move forward of the 
funnel — though no anticipation of the inroad could be formed 
twenty hours before, though no preparations were possible, 
and the amount of stores to be carried could not be foreseen 
— not only does the voyage proceed as comfortably as before, 
but not even one word of ill temper has been uttered. Our 
captain's pleasant laugh is as ready, our purser serves the 
frequent meal as abundant and as punctual as if the sailors 
had an empty deck to do their duty in, and the cook had not 
an hundred extra mouths to feed. Seeing what we passengers 
see, it does not at all surprise us to be told that the ' Liberia ' 
will find freight where other ships go empty away, and that 
merchants homeward bound will subordinate their business 
arrangements to the desire of returning with Captain Lowrie. 
All down the coast, through all classes, governors and bishops, 
merchants and missionaries, the very negroes and Kroomen, 
there will be sincere regret to hear that this is our captain's 
last voyage. After fifteen years of most popular and success- 
ful command he retires to well-earned repose. 

Grand Sestros, Oct. 26th. 
Now, of a verity, the savages have gat hold upon us ! 
They are swarming aboard by hundreds, their canoes jostle and 
interlock against our iron sides. The air is full of cries and 
curses such as need no interpreter. The grey-blue sea, all 
glittering in heat, which bodily seems to move in one great 
sigh of swell, is flecked with narrow dug-outs, each containing 



BOARDED BY KROOMEN. 19 

four or six men, who paddle as for life. Under our side the 
struggle is desperate. No ladder is lowered to these visitors. 
By a single rope flung over the lofty side they clamber up like 
bees a- swarming. The crush is wild enough to cause alarm. 
From canoes firm wedged six or ten deep by our side,, 
brawny naked fellows are climbing, each others limbs and 
heads their foothold. The frail canoes rock and fill. The 
paddlers fiercely cry and glapper. In the back of each is the 
prow of an intruding craft, pushing him from his seat. Men 
standing up are locked in each others arms. Ropes' ends are 
freely dealt upon the climbers, by impatient hands below. 
Just such a scene we have read of when some good ship 
stranded has been attacked by savage hordes all bent on 
plunder and blood. But here there is no alarm. Our ship's 
company leans over the side, and laughs at this, the great 
sensation of the voyage. The sailors recognise old ship mates, 
and greet " Peasoup," or " Teakettle," or " Nigger Tom," 
with uproarious welcome. Peasoup and Nigger Tom respond 
with a hurried grin, as they mount, all perspiring, the bulwark, 
and spring down. This is no invasion. The black line down 
the nose, the filed front teeth, proclaim the Krooman. Ay, 
and more signs also has he to distinguish himself— the member 
of this single tribe of workers, solitary on the coast. He can 
show brawny arms, deep chest, and mighty bulk, such as no 
other race can rival. An honest face too, such as is the 
honesty of his colour, and frank, pleasant eyes. Grand Sestros 
is, in short, the chief recruiting place for these good fellows, 

c2 



20 



AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRA VE. 



and we are here filling up not our own wants only ; our purser 
holds commissions for more than fifty men from different 
merchants along the coast. 

Amusing little pictures are to be seen about the deck when 
all the Kroomen have come on board. Here is a chief, 
magnificent in a stovepipe hat and nothing else, smoking a 
" long clay " in the Captain's own chair. Then stands "Gray" 
himself, the brawniest of mortals, with the huge brass medal 
about his neck which proclaims his services aboard the ship 
f Victory of Bristol'; a notable man is Gray, and of him, 
of his strength and fidelity, we have heard many tales during 
the voyage. Close by, talking with a merchant, is a short 
Krooman whose biceps is developed to deformity, and we hear, 
without astonishment, that he can lift an ordinary human 
being with one hand. All are stark naked, except for the 
breech-clout. They wear a few ornaments, beads and copper 
wire, but the wages of their last voyage have been spent long 
since, in new wives, in drink, and all manner of " games." 
They are even thin from want of food, for Captain Lowrie's 
arrival has been expected some days. The Kroomen live only 
by work on ship board, and for white masters. Their country 
is poor, producing no palm oil, no gold, nothing, in fact, but 
strong arms and willing hands. These are the Krooman's 
capital, and he does not spare them. But he is most des- 
perately wasteful of the income they bring, and often does he 
hunger when work is slack and trade bad. But this coast 
would be even less endurable than it is without the Kroomen. 



FORMA TION OF A LANG UA GE. 2 1 



Here may be observed that process so rare, and so instruc- 
tive to the philologist — the formation of a language. Visitors 
and natives, working together, are gradually making out a 
common lingo, which is scarcely more like English than 
Chinese " pigeon talk," but which seems destined to be the 
language of the Coast in no long time. Love of imitation 
runs strong in the negro breast, and it is especially active in 
respect of all that belongs to the white man. Already you 
may hear the Kroomen talking to one another in their new 
dialect ; and the Ashantee war has introduced a score of 
English idioms into the Fantee, to the utter exclusion of its 
own corresponding phrases. " Good morning," " How d'you 
do ? " " sick," " well," " fool " — with an emphatic prefix, 
and many other terms, had become universal before the 
expedition ended. But it must not be supposed that this 
patois is English. It consists, indeed, of English words, but 
used in a sense, and in conjunctions, almost unintelligible to 
us. One might reflect, not without profit perhaps, upon the 
strange uses to which our mother words are put. As for all 
effects there is a cause, deep thought might reveal to us 
why the verb " to be " is persistently ignored in its present 
and imperfect tenses, and to "live" is substituted. One 
cannot easily believe that Englishmen knowingly introduced 
this extraordinary form, or that it came into use by accident. 
Perhaps the West Coast dialects had the idiom, and trans- 
lated it literally in their first struggles with the English 
speech. In that case, the missionaries may be said to have 



22 



AT THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE. 



brought it into use. Or, again, the earliest traders, seeking 
ivory and oil, unconsciously made it current by asking after 
elephants and palm-trees. But I am inclined to think that 
the marvel of our sustained existence on the West Coast lies 
at the root of this expression — " How, Capt. Lowrie, you 
live again ?" exclaims the Kroo chief as he comes on the 
quarter-deck. It will be represented to you that the saluta- 
tion is but equivalent to our English, " You here again ?" but 
I don't accept the explanation. The Krooraan never ceases 
to be astonished at the recurrent appearances of Capt. Lowrie 
alive and hearty, and his " live," in this and all cases, bears 
no other interpretation. 

The use of " catch " is another puzzle to be unravelled. 
This verb fills the place of our "get" or "fetch," and 
" have." It might lead one to suppose these negroes to be 
mighty huntsmen, or indomitable fishers ; but they are 
nothing of the sort. Does the term come down from slave- 
dealing times, when indeed the merchandise craved by our 
traders were literally caught ? ' ' One time," which is scarcely 
English, means " be quick." The new language gives little 
trouble in its inflexions. But two tenses go to a verb, present 
and past. No perplexity in numbers or genders embarrasses 
the Krooman, he knows but the singular and the masculine. 
The definite article and all demonstrative pronouns are re- 
placed by an universal " them." " Go catch them boy one 
time," signifies to the initiated, " Fetch that boy of mine, 
and be quick about it." Thus a language is building itself up. 



ECCENTRIC JARGON. 



23 



Wouldn't it have been as cheap and as easy to teach the 
innocent African plain English? But some men have a 
marvellous facility in picking up these doggrel dialects, and 
others have a natural genius for inventing them. One of our 
fellow-passengers, who had not hitherto shown remarkable 
quickness, discoursed glibly with all comers in a jargon 
utterly unintelligible to us, with but two days' practice. It 
was not for a week after that we discovered his fluent lingo 
to be pure fancy-talk, no better understood by the Kroomen 
than by ourselves. 



24 



CHAPTEK II. 

CAPE COAST CASTLE. 

Cape Coast Castle — Passing Yiew of a Bombardment — Sir Garnet Wolseley 
Absent in the Bush — Landing of the Kossus — All the G-ods of Africa 
Mustering against Ashantee — Women Porters — Kossu Demonstration — 
Cape Coast Castle Traders — Their Former Magnificence — Not Due to 
Slave Trade — Steady Decline of Commerce — Gold Dust Failing in 
Supply — Captain Thompson's Report — Our Interference the Cause of 
Decline — No Attempt to Substitute New Produce for Trade — India- 
Rubber abounds, and Gum — Ashantee Trade the Reliance of Cape Coast — 
Views from my Residence — The Family Opposite, their Occupations 
and Amusements — The Ashantee Cloth Trade — Return of Sir Garnet — 
Proclamation — The Fight at Dunquah — Sir Garnet's Influence — Appeal 
to Fantee Courage — The Railway Abandoned — Government House — 
Spirit of the Women — The Land Steamer in Motion. 

Oct. 29th, 1873. 

A steel-blue sea rolling great waves. A narrow boundary 
of sand, on which the rollers hurl like crested walls of water. 
A monstrous fort on the beach, all towers, curtains, staircases, 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



25 



and courtyards. Another, less picturesque, upon a hill — a 
ruined town, in which red walls hang totteriug between heaven 
and earth, without support, continuation, or purpose apparent; 
in which gable-ends, with no gable visible, abound; in which 
whole rows of sashless windows admit the light of heaven from 
either side indifferently ; a town, you would say, which had 
suffered the last extremities of war, but two or three days ago. 
Low hills, sad-green of colour, surrounding it. A white 
house peeping here and there through masses of more showy 
verdure. Such is one's first view of the spot for ever sanctified 
to the admirers of L.E.L. Less brilliant than Sierra Leone 
in point of colour, the picturesque mass of the fort gives Cape 
"Coast Castle an appearance much more imposing than the 
larger town can boast. It lacks the fine background, the 
broken shore, the deep red of sandstone, and the marvellous 
green of foliage, but the castle compensates for every deficiency. 
I never saw a building of more romantic outline. In the 
midst is a huge tower, rounded at each corner, on which our 
flag, happily, still floats. Around it are buildings of every 
shape and height, walls, and battlements, and turrets. The 
importance of this place must indeed have been immense 
in the day of the Portuguese, to induce them to raise such 
a structure. And it is not only at Cape Coast that Euro- 
pean nations have set up these monstrous castles. But 
nine miles away is Elmina, where the Dutch used to 
pride themselves upon possessing a rival show. And on 
4he other side, nearer still, is Dix Cove, with Boutry fort, 



26 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



and several more. But the glory of the builders' day has 
departed. 

Nothing puzzles a distant looker on like a bombardment, 
if he have no previous information about the circumstances. 
As we passed Boutry, yesterday, if indeed the place in question 
was Boutry, a point not so certain as a conscientious corre- 
spondent might desire, we saw two men-of-war at anchor, with 
boats out. It was yet earliest morning, but our sailors had 
plainly been awake some time. Little balloons of snow ex- 
panded over both ships and boats, from time to time, and, as 
we drew closer, the boom of guns was heard. Passing a head- 
land that hid the cove off which they lay, the shore proved to be 
concealed in dense brown smoke, on which the white gun-puffs 
seemed like little balls of cotton wool. The town of Boutry 
was in a blaze, and even, as it appeared, the conflagration 
stretched beyond the town to bush or harvest ground. Now 
and again the morning breeze bored through the smoke, and 
then, as through a window, we could see the red walls of 
Boutry fort, overhung with the powder cloud ; but whether 
the fort was bombarded or bombarding, whether it was firing 
into our ships or aiding them to destroy the town, whether 
that unfortunate "location" was burned by accident, and all 
other forms that question could take about the business, re- 
mained without an answer, and so remain still. All fchey know 
here is that the f Merlin ' and the ' Argus ' went down the coast 
a week since. I am bound also to confess that very little 
curiosity is felt about their proceedings. Towns bombarded 



SZE GARNET ABSENT IN THE BUSH. 



27 



and burnt have been too commonly reported of late to arouse 
much attention. 

Arriving at Cape Coast Castle about 1.30 p.m. yesterday, 
I was startled by the news that Sir Garnet Wolseley and all 
his officers had taken the field on Sunday night. I instantly 
prepared for a long night's march to Dunquah, where, as I 
was enabled to tell you in my last letter, the Fantee forces 
have their rendezvous. From the busy inquiries, and the 
anxieties, this information caused, I was pleasantly diverted 
by learning, on unquestionable authority, that the affair 
impending was a mere foray. Sir Garnet had left word that 
he would certainly return last night or this morning, and, as 
the English mail is due to leave to-day, I thought it desirable 
to write off such news as we have rather than to pursue a 
force which would probably be returning as I set out. On 
what information Sir Garnet lays his plans, and what those 
plans are, none but a very few, if any, are aware. Cape 
Coast Castle swarms with Ashantee spies — or so it is believed. 
Our enemies are so intimately acquainted with the town, 
and so many of them speak Fantee without a trace of accent, 
that they could, perhaps they do, walk into the streets and 
look about them, and converse, without danger of detection. 
With the possibility of such espionage in view, our general 
is most guarded in his movements. At midday on Sunday 
last, no one knew of an advance impending, but at 4 p.m. 
the entire force disposable was on its way to Dunquah. Of 



28 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



the results of the movement, we have not, even yet, one word 
of information. 

The first thing to do, when once I had satisfied myself that 
no night march to the front could be advisable, was to observe 
our Kossu allies, now about to land. They went over the 
side into large boats, twelve by a company. I observed with 
great delight that the great Ju-ju drum was sent over by 
itself with all ceremony. What a collection of miscellaneous 
savages are we gathering against wretched Ashantee ! All 
the gods of West Africa are invoked to fight him. Allah 
fights, or is expected to fight, with the Houssas of Addah, 
and every Ju-ju and fetish, from thence up to the Gambia is 
called to aid. Our Kossus went ashore very quietly, striking 
up that war-song we have learnt to know so well, as they 
vanished behind the long rollers. When the last of them had 
gone over the side, I bade adieu to the pleasant vessel in which 
we had voyaged three weeks. The crew of my boat were 
Fantees. They sat upon the extreme edge of their craft, and 
dipped their paddles in perfect time, to the most monotonous 
song ever man sung. It consisted of one line only, to which, 
incessantly repeated, the paddlers answered in a chorus of two 
words. Travelling very slowly, now lifted on high, now 
descending the ocean depths, we made for shore. In a narrow 
bay between two rocks, we eluded the towering surf, and 
landed with no worse accident than a sprinkling of spray. 
It remained to get out the baggage, and I looked with dismay 
-at the crowd of loafing natives, with scroundrelism stamped 



FEMALE PORTERS. 



29 



upon their countenances, who clustered eagerly to the side. 
How amongst so many should a man look after his own? 
Help came from an unexpected quarter. A quiet looking 
negro, in the picturesque undress of the West Indian regi- 
ments, white coat, red cap, and baggy breeches of dark blue, 
gave a signal with his hand, and fifty female porters came 
dancing through the crowd. They were all naked to the 
waist, and from the knee. Every age above childhood had its 
representatives, from the withered beldame, who had lost all 
the beauties of sex, to the slender girl who did not yet possess 
them. A willing, clamourous crew, they siezed my packages, 
and hoisted them upon their heads. At a smile and a sign, 
they ranged themselves in row, until the tale of goods to be 
convoyed was announced complete, and then, with merry 
laughter they danced off to the shady portal of the fort. Our 
way hence was stopped by another bevy, returning to the beat 
of a rhythmic song, with feet deftly changed, and waving of 
arms and bodies. The expressions of face, and the laughterful, 
uproarious exchange of scolding, reminded me exactly of 
scenes beheld when one troop of dancers meets another at 
the " wing." In a few seconds, the steep, cool arch was clear, 
and the outgoers were busy as bees around huge packages of 
rice. We went on into the court. What swiftness of words, 
what scope of humourous expression, would be needed to 
describe the scene within ! Fancy a vast courtyard, almost 
triangular in form, overlooked by the big tower, and by stair- 
cases and balconies innumerable. Fancy it filled, piled up, 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



with boxes, packages, and barrels, leaving only a middle 
passage. People it with a crush of women, amongst whom, 
like sailors swimming in inky sea, appear a half dozen 
officers of the commissariat, red with heat, perspiring under 
their helmets, laughing and scolding in a breath. With no 
more regard for them than a laugh, and an interpolated word 
in the endless song, the* female porters execute their outward 
dance, and perform the heavy duties of their returning task. 

"Far liae I wandered an' niuckle hae I seen," 

as the old song has it, but the like of that courtyard, " never 
saw I none." Of order or organization there appeared to be 
no vestige, and yet, looking at that same courtyard to-day, 
I understand the enthusiasm with which our transport Officers 
regard their female gang. The arrangement, the decency, 
which had been hopeless to attain with Kroomen, or with 
the villanous recruits of Sierra Leone, are achieved without 
difficulty by the women. " Just tip 'em a laugh and a punch 
in the ribs," said a Scotch serjeant to me to-day, " an' them 
there Fantee women will carry 200 pounds each from this to 
Coomassie on their heads \" Their strength is surprising, 
and their merriment inexhaustible. No work seems to daunt 
them, if only they get good humoured encouragement from 
the officers. In physical force, they are more than a match 
for those they call their lords, and their tractability seems to 
be beyond proof. The officials declare to me that more work 
has been done since last Monday, when the men of the trans- 



KOSSU DEMONSTRATION. 



3i 



port were called to the front, than had been achieved during 
the previous three weeks. 

In the middle of the courtyard, an intermitted scream of 
laughter rising above the songs, the rhythmic patter of 
dancing feet, and the cheery sound of women's voices, recalled 
the presence of our Kossus, who had landed ahead of 
me. Struggling after my porters, through the steaming 
crowd, I made for the scene of fun. Fun it was indeed. Our 
warriors were drunk with excitement, mad with the vanity of 
" showing off" before so many women. I should be at a loss 
to imagine any contortion of which human frame is capable, 
any flourish of sword or practice of jungle-fight, which one or 
other did not execute. They danced, and they sang, and they 
screamed, and they foamed, until the officers of the Commis- 
sariat, who stood around on rice bales, were sick with laugh- 
ing, and demanded a cessation. Thereupon, the great Ju-ju 
chief, accoutred in the helmet I have told you of, mounted in 
state upon four warriors at once, and marched in triumph 
from the court, holding his scabbard in left hand, with the 
sword half drawn in his right. And so they passed away to 
Prospect Hill ; whence, after learning some small rudiments 
of soldiery, they will be sent to the attack. 

I was very notably fortunate in obtaining shelter at the 
house of Mr. Selby, the representative in Cape Coast of 
Messrs. Lintott, Spink, and Co. To his genial hospitality I 
believe myself indebted for that escape from all serious 
illness which a bare half-dozen could boast out of all the 



32 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



numbers who served an equal time. It will not be super- 
fluous to say a few words about the firm of Lintott, Spink,, 
and Co., seeing they occupy the second place amongst the 
three European houses which can and do absorb all the trade 
of Cape Coast and its adjoining regions. Messrs. Swanzy 
hold the first rank, and Mr. Kendal, who does business on 
his own account, the third. Messrs. Lintott, Spink, and Co. 
are the successors to Messrs. Forster and Smith, traders of 
the elder and more prosperous day. They had a fleet of seven- 
teen sail always busy. There were great merchants in 
Africa at that time, men whose wealth and luxury is evidenced 
by the style of their houses yet remaining. Amidst the dirty 
ruins of Cape Coast Castle, here and there a great edifice 
towers, solidly built of stone and rubble — a palace environed 
by heaps of mud. This was the residence of a trader in old 
times. Government House, a very large and handsome 
building, was lately bought from the representatives of Forster 
and Smith, who had got it by the bankruptcy of its last 
owner. Gothic House, an enormous edifice, reached their 
hands in the same way; it is now rented by Government, 
and accommodates both the post-office and the colonial 
offices. Another vast building is the Military Hospital. A 
fourth, Palm House, also in the hands of Mr. Selby, might 
accommodate half a battalion, officers and all. Mrs. 
Swanzy lives upon the hill in a house as big as a factory. 
The judge's bungalow, just outside the town, is spacious 
enough and graceful enough to be called a residence, with the 



CAPE COAST TRADERS. 



33 



large R, by auctioneers; he rents it through Mr. Selby. 
Others there are which to enumerate would be long. I wish 
to point out that the trade and civilisation of Cape Coast 
Castle, and, indeed, of all the Gold Coast, have declined and 
are declining with great rapidity. Why, the last owner of 
Gothic House had a picture gallery there, of which the 
contents, if not exactly what they professed to be, were at 
least purchased at their value alleged ! I doubt if, at this 
present time, there are six oil paintings in all the town. The 
houses of which I have spoken were evidently built for large 
entertainments, and a great " way of life " ; but for one 
person to dine with another is now an event, a landmark 
in the year. It is true that those who raised these solid 
barracks, or their descendants, mostly drifted into bank- 
ruptcy; but they drifted with the country. Credit in the 
market is the best test of mercantile prosperity, and be it 
noted that when Messrs. Forster and Smith retired from 
business, they left to their successors for collection a sum of 
debt so vast, that Mr. Selby has still upon his books not less 
than half a million sterling to recover. They retired because 
the business could no longer employ their capital with profit, 
and the great firm boldly resolved to strike in another direc- 
tion. It was a wise step, justified both ways — by the collapse 
of trade on the Gold Coast, and by the success of their new 
venture. I should be sorry to offer my friend* Selby five per 
cent, for the amount due to him. I should fear for his senses 
under the delightful shock. 



34 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



It will be said by those who, knowing nothing of the coast, 
fanatically desire to keep our hold of Africa, that the pro- 
sperity of former times was due to the slave-trade. This is 
not so ; neither of the firms which once employed such vast 
capital here were ever connected with that traffic. They did 
an honest business in cottons and European manufactures, 
for oil, ground-nuts, gold dust, and other produce. Why, 
then, have the profits, and indeed the trade itself, so far 
declined that merchants scarcely get a living now where once 
they made rapid fortunes ? Be it observed, in the first place, 
that I speak of the Gold Coast only; the "rivers," after a 
period of depression, are once more becoming profitable. The 
introduction of steamers, which carry goods for anybody, if 
only he can pay the freight, is one great cause of individual 
loss. Small traders could not get an order executed when 
the whole business of carrying was in the hands of a powerful 
rival. But this point, so much insisted on, does not appear 
to me of value in the respect we are considering. If steamers 
have worked mischief with the Swanzys, the Forsters, and 
Smiths, and other leviathans, they have opened up a general 
trade much larger than the monopoly destroyed. On the Gold 
Coast, however, business has ceased to pay for no such cause. 
It has thus ceased because the supply of produce has declined 
and is declining. The most important commerce of this part 
was the exchange of English goods against gold dust. That 
article is not now forthcoming in the necessary quantity. 
Twenty-five years ago the export was valued at £300,000 per 



CAPTAIN THOMPSON'S REPORT 35 



annum; it is now but ten per cent, of that amount. For 
some reason or other the yield of gold has diminished to this 
extent. It is found in several districts. The Wassaw coun- 
try, lying west of our protectorate, is one great digging. No 
small quantity came from Appolonia ; but the richest beds are 
found in Ashantee country, where, perhaps, will ultimately be 
discovered the very grandest placers, or washings, in the 
world. In Fantee territory no gold is found, or very little. 
Oil and kernels are sometimes shipped, in small quantities, 
from Winnebah, Pram-pram, Saltpond, and other little ports, 
but from Cape Coast never. It is evident, therefore, that 
the Fantee trade was never self-supporting. It depended on 
the gold fields of Wassaw and Ashantee. The former of 
these, for reasons unknown, have greatly fallen off in their 
supply ; the latter have been more or less closed to our trade 
since the first troubles began with Ashantee, in 1807. The 
late Capt. Thompson, writing to the ' Daily Telegraph/ under 
date of November 18, 1873, thus describes the Wassaw dig- 
gings as he saw them when travelling on a mission to that 
people : — 

Through this country the path was everywhere honeycombed, and so was 
the surrounding soil, with holes about three feet deep and twelve feet in 
diameter. These were the native gold mines, not worked now, as all " trade 
labour" had been stopped by the chiefs, that the "blood labour" might 
proceed uninterruptedly. As much as five and six ounces are frequently 
obtained by the women in a day out of one of these gold holes ; indeed, the 
soil is evidently rich in auriferous deposit, which may be seen cropping out of 
the sides of these shallow diggings. The villages of this country occur at rare 

d2 



3& 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



intervals, and are very small, though the inhabitants are often wealthy. The- 
reason is that though there is little to eat there is plenty of gold ; and as gold 
is portable property, easily seized, the villagers are subjected to incessant 
plunder, under the name of taxation, by their tings, who descend with their 
warriors as often as convenient upon these gold-diggers, and cany off every 
particle of the precious metal that has not been buried. 

The oppressions mentioned by Captain Thompson may 
have their weight in discouraging Wassaw diggers, but one 
cannot believe them more powerful now than in the days 
before we undertook our ridiculous protectorate. A more 
important agent in reducing the yield of gold was that pro- 
tectorate itself. The kings of Wassaw, like the kings of 
Ashantee now, had once the power to exact a corvee from 
their people — power we have taken from them. They could 
and did order out thousands of men to dig gold for their 
profit, which gold their extravagance and savage generosity 
soon put into circulation. It cannot be too often reiterated — 
for the English mind is slow to believe such a fact — that 
the negro is not to be induced to continuous work 
by any temptation. He must be made, either by ne- 
cessity or by direct compulsion. Our absurd protectorate 
has withdrawn from the Wassaw kings their absolute 
authority, and the return of gold has suffered in proportion. 
And at the same time, that copious supply once reaching 
us from Ashantee has become fitfuFand uncertain. 

The Fantees, squatted each on his own corn patch, under the 
shade of his own banana, do not attempt to substitute any 
produce for that lost harvest. Their country abounds with india- 



MY RESIDENCE. 



37 



Tubber, Every village has from five to twenty trees planted 
in it, for the sole purpose of giving shade. Specimens of the 
finest gums I ever saw may be admired in merchants' houses. 
What other products of value his forests contain no one can 
say ; but the india-rubber is astonishingly plentiful. It is not 
of the finest class, I believe, neither equal to the American 
nor to that liana-rubber found in the Gaboon regions, but it 
has considerable value. Never a tree has been tapped on the 
coast, never an effort has been made to establish a self- 
subsisting commerce. Ill feeling between Fantee and 
Ashantee means stagnation of trade and heavy loss to the 
merchant ; hostilities mean ruin and despair. Whilst 
Ashantee was our friend, great fortunes were made on the 
Gold Coast, great houses built, general prosperity ; Ashantee 
our foe, the wretched Fantee finds his level, trade stands still, 
merchants break or retire. Ashantee prostrate is a new idea. 
None can foresee the result of that factor. But the desperate 
folly which produced this war has never been equalled since 
the farmer of old ripped up his goose to snatch her golden 
.eggs. 

My new residence is a corner house, solidly and handsomely 
built of rubble. The ground floor makes a vault-like ware- 
house, in which is stored that miscellaneous collection of 
European goods necessary for African trade. Negroes don't 
understand a speciality ; the merchant must deal in everything 
or in nothing. Under broad pillars, which support the upper 
floors, between great casks of rum, old go-carts, and dilapi- 



3* 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



dated man-carriages, is a wide flight of steps that mounts to 
the living-rooms. The first floor contains a very lofty and 
spacious drawing-room, a dining-room of most hospitable 
proportions, with a small salon beyond, and various bed- 
rooms. Along the sea-front of the dining-room and salon 
extends a wide and airy verandah, most convenient for him 
who would observe the passing show of Cape Coast life. The 
upper floor, kindly resigned to me by Mr. Selby, has two 
very large apartments open to the roof, and a little writing- 
room between. Here there is perpetual wind, however 
sultry be the streets. Between roof and wall two feet of 
lattice work has been built in, with the happiest result. 
Writing with the jalousies closed, I have to weight each sheet 
of paper, or it would fly away. Outside, the flat lower roofs 
make a most pleasant promenade at early morning or late 
eve. Most decidedly these old merchants knew how to 
build, but their great rooms are dull enough now that gaiety 
has vanished with waning gold. 

From the verandah one beheld droll sights. Opposite 
stands the big mud- house of a chief, filthy, frowsy, and 
ruinous, but always lively, I have no idea at all how many 
wives dwelt therein, or how many children and slaves, but the 
house was a very hive, an officina gentium, and the inhabitants 
all pursued their life in the open air. A ragged palm-tree 
stood before the door, under which they pretended to find 
shade. Here were always squatted five-and-twenty indi- 
viduals, intensely engaged in watching five-and-twenty more, 



A FAN TEE CHIEF'S HOUSEHOLD. 



39 



"who mashed corn, or boiled palm soup, or rolled out kenki, 
while the remaining twenty-five hung about the road and 
reviled the passers-by. That is to say, that their language 
sounded like reviling, but it may have been blessing in dis- 
guise. Supernumeraries, to the amount of a hundred or so, 
surveyed the family from aloft, leaning on broken window-sills 
of mud, or languidly swinging, heads and legs in a heap, upon 
a frowsy old hammock inside the cock-loft. This multitude 
was all female or infant, and all provided with the necklace 
of white beads which shows that the house-husband is serving 
his country. How it — the multitude — exists is an old, old 
question. I fancy something rather important was transacted 
in the dog-trade. Pet dogs of the female sex are quite self- 
supporting at Cape Coast. So are rats. Our neighbours' 
dogs were numerous, and the pups uncommonly fat. These 
were watched with great vigilance, and promptly brought 
back when straying beyond sight. And the stark little 
youngsters of ten or twelve years old, who abounded, doubt- 
less had considerable gifts for the chase. The favourite game 
of Cape Coast is the snail. This creature is there found of 
abnormal size, and of a sliminess beyond the common. 
Stewed with the dogs and rats aforesaid, it makes a soup 
with which I should not think of comparing turtle. And one 
cannot believe that any large proportion of the kenki, corn, 
foo-foo, and palm soup which we saw in perpetual course of 
preparation was consumed by the family ; because farina- 
ceous food is fattening, and this family was lean beyond 



40 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



belief. A lady in Europe may pass herself off as moderately 
plump, though a living skeleton, but the simplicity of Fantee 
attire makes deception impossible. It consists of a single 
cloth, tightly girt over the hips, and so arranged that in cold 
weather two or three of the upper folds may be drawn up 
under the arm-pits. Married women are supposed always to 
keep these folds extended, thus hiding the bosom. I wish 
they were more strict in complying with etiquette ; for the 
horrors revealed by neglect of it are painful to the last degree. 
Young girls only cover the bust when cold, and it must be 
owned that prettier figures, so far as this point goes, could 
nowhere be found. I believe that an under-cloth is worn, 
but it is so small as never to show. Attached thereto behind 
and under the upper garment is the kinki, or " bustle," a roll 
of cloth varying in size according to the age and rank of the 
wearer. The wife of a chieftain or rich man carries a square 
kinki at least twelve inches wide, which gives a ridiculous 
breadth to the person. You would suppose that the lady had 
been victim of that old trick, prepared with cobbler's wax 
and a stool, and that she was waddling off to the doctor, 
carrying her seat behind, It is alleged that the kinki is 
worn for the convenience of carrying children, and no doubt 
it serves that purpose. But I take it that the Fantee women 
are instinctively conscious of the weak point in their figure. 
Africa shows us the two extremes of woman's anatomy in 
this respect : — the Hottentot Venus at one end and the 
Fantee androgyne at the other. 



FANTEE HAIRDRESSING. 



4i 



In the horrid dulness of life at Cape Coast Castle, during 
the intervals of my expeditions, this opposite household was 
a great resource. I never ceased to marvel at the contented 
idleness of the inmates. It was a wonder. One found a day's 
hard work in combing out another's wool, and the other found 
a day of heaven's delight in undergoing the operation. I 
had no notion what a length the negro hair will grow. 
Several of these women could have theirs combed out a foot 
all round, standing straight on end at that length. One or 
two reached eighteen inches. Most fantastic are the coiffures 
of the Fantee. As their stiff wool will part anywhere, and 
stand in any shape to which it may be twisted, exhaustion of 
the fancy is the only limit that can be placed to the hair- 
dresser's art. The commonest and simplest fashion is that 
of a cushion, made by combing up all the outside hair, and 
bending it inwards, whilst the centre kinks are twisted into a 
spike, and whipped about with thread. In another fashion 
all the hair is thus spiked up, leaving but the roll outside. 
A third, very elaborate, is contrived by parting the head all 
over in larger or smaller diamonds; the wool in each diamond 
is then twisted together in a little spike at the centre, making 
an exact resemblance to a pine-apple. When neatly dressed, 
and decked with the pins, the combs, and the golden butter- 
flies, in which Fantee jewellers show some skill, the head of a 
Cape Coast woman is not ungraceful. She has no point of 
beauty in feature, but the expression is amiable, and it is 
rarely one sees the worst peculiarities of the negro face. 



42 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



Both men and women have an excellent taste in colour. Nc* 
glaring tone will succeed in the Coast trade, nor any extrava- 
gant size or showiness in ornament. Some of the prettiest 
though cheapest cloths I noticed had been made by sewing 
together patches and scraps of English cottons, and the 
effect of these was always good. Those patterns which may be 
described as "rich but not gaudy/' are the favourites. 
Cloths of their own manufacture, or of Ashantee, are much 
more prized. The dyes come from England, and the cotton 
also sometimes, but more frequently the latter is homo 
grown. Native looms will not weave a greater breadth than 
four inches, and the long strips must be sewn together, 
Even cottons of the usual size will fetch fifteen shillings, 
whilst those on which extra care has been bestowed reach 
three and four pounds. Native silks attain an extraordinary 
price, beyond the reach of any but the wealthiest. 

This commerce is in its infancy. Twelve years ago the 
Ashautees first began to trade in their cloths, but the finest 
come, through their hands, from unknown tribes of the 
interior. The introduction of these is later still, and they 
yet command the extravagant price of a novelty. Some 
favourite cloths come from Lagos, which are known by their 
peculiar patterns. The dyers make up a knot or bunch of 
the material, and dip it in indigo, which process, of course, 
has the effect of forming an irregular rosette of colour. Fair 
imitations are manufactured at Accra, but the dye is very 
inferior. I should conceive that Manchester could easily 



ENGAGEMENT NEAR ELM IN A. 



43. 



compete in this article, although the vast superiority of native 
work, in point of durability, is beyond our competition. 

Oct. 30th. The prudence of my course in waiting Sir Garnet 
Wolseley's return is justified by the event. He came back last 
night, rather footsore, but without any tale of adventure. The 
late expedition was a demonstration and nothing more. Our 
General's policy is not difficult to divine. He came here a 
month ago to find the Ashantees absolutely master of the- 
coast. Their camp at Moumpon, containing not less, as I 
can assure you, than 40,000 warriors, lay a bare eight miles 
from the castle. At Napoleon redoubt, an outwork five 
miles away, the Ashantee war-drums could be heard. Sir 
Garnet's first policy was to break up that threatening camp. 
So long as the enemy remained in force at Moumpon, the 
fidelity of the coast clans could not be depended on. Their 
safety demanded from them assistance to the Ashantees. 
Sir Garnet, therefore, marched out on the 21st inst. ; and, 
after a brisk engagement in the neighbourhood of Elinina, he- 
defeated the enemy on their own ground, and burnt the allied 
villages Ampenee and Akimfoo. The following notice,, 
which has been circulated in every direction, records hi& 
success : — 

" To all the tribes and people of the Gold Coast. 
" Know ye that certain chiefs have harboured Ashantees and other enemies- 
of the tribes in alliance with her Majesty, and have supplied them with 
munition of war and other stores, whereupon I duly summoned them to 
appear before me. They neglected to attend my summons — they consulted 
with the Ashantee enemy now at Mampon. On Tuesday last I moved from 



44 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



here upon them, and pursued them. They fancied they could meet me 
in the bush. In the bush they were beaten and destroyed. Essaman, 
Anquana, Akimfoo, and Ampenee are now charred ruins. I, therefore, being 
unwilling that any tribe should be exposed to a like fate from ignorance of my 
power to punish, warn all men of what will befall those who are faithless 
to their country and to their alliance with her Majesty." 

Our losses were : — Captain Freemantle, c Barracouta/ and 
Colonel McNeil, V.C., severely wounded; Captain Forbes, 
2 W. I., slightly. Five Naval Brigade wounded. Eleven 
Houssas killed and 15 wounded. 

But not with a small fight like this can the thousands of 
the Ashantees be dispersed. It had a great moral effect on 
them, and sowed dissension in their camp. But it was 
necessary to keep the agony alive, and hence the movement 
of Sunday last. That movement was intended as a visible 
check to the Ashantee boastings. They had been for months 
declaring their resolve to burn Abrakrampa. Acting on infor- 
mation he received, Sir Garnet Wolseley thought it advisable 
to move a force for the protection of the town, and he entirely 
succeeded in his object. But the people have not been without 
their hebdomadal excitement. Colonel Festing, who has 
already distinguished himself in this war, pushed a reconnais- 
sance from Dunquah towards the Ashantee line of march. 
He came upon the enemy at breakfast, in a small village. 
His force consisted of ninety men of the 2nd West India 
Eegiment, 400 to 500 Fantees, and 200 warriors belonging 
to the king of Animaboo. The Ashantees surprised are esti- 
mated at 5000. The Fantees ran at the first shot fired ; but, 



SIR GARNET'S INFLUENCE. 



45' 



after a struggle of some severity, the village was carried, and 
the enemy put to flight with considerable loss. This success 
was not attained with impunity. Colonel Testing himself re- 
ceived a slight wound. Mr. Godwin, of the 103rd., was se- 
verely hit, as was Sub-Lieut. Filliter of the 2nd West India ; 
Captain Haynes, of the same regiment, suffered a wound in the 
chin; and Sergeant-Major Eyan, of the same, had a dreadful 
shot in the neck. Such casualties amongst the white leaders 
tell a tale. In fact, our Fantee allies have as yet proved 
themselves utterly useless in the field. At Fort Napoleon 
the other day a crowd of them refused to accept arms — 
actually turned away and hid themselves when rifles were 
offered them ! Sir Garnet despairs of ever making soldiers of 
such stuff. The name of an Ashantee affrights them to panic. 
No success and no leadership appears to stimulate their 
courage. They lie down in the road and cry, for simple 
childish fear, and only can be stirred by kicking. But there 
are some clans in which bravery is found ; unfortunately, they 
are few and weak. 

Never did General establish confidence more rapidly than 
Sir Garnet. He found the coast panic stricken and hopeless 
of relief: in a month's time he has given security and created 
faith. The castle itself could barely be considered safe. The 
town lay as a prey to the Ashantee. In the house where I 
have my hospitable quarters, the proprietor armed twenty 
men on his own account, who kept watch and ward ; this, 
within fifty yards of the castle gate. Why the enemy did not 



4 6 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



attack is a mystery. They did not profit by the occasion, 
and now it is our turn. By the following proclamation, it 
will be seen that the Mountpon, or Mampou, camp is officially 
announced to be broken up, and the 40,000 men there in full 
retreat. 

PKOCLAMATION. 
By his Excellency Sir Garnet Joseph Wolseley, Knight Commander of the 
Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Com- 
panion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Major-General Com- 
manding her Majesty's Forces on the West Coast of Africa, and Admini- 
strator of Her Majesty's Forts and Settlements on the Gold Coast, etc. 

Garnet Joseph Wolseley, Major- General, 
Administrator, 

To all the Kings, Headmen, Chiefs, and tribes of the Gold Coast, allies of 
her Majesty the Queen of England, greeting. 

I desire that you should know that immediately after the attack made upon 
Essaman and Ampenee, and the destruction of those places by the English 
troops under my command, your enemies broke up their encampment at 
Mampon. Finding that they were unable to contend with us either in the 
open or in the bush, they are now in full retreat endeavouring to return to 
their own country by Prahsu ; one of their retreating columns has been 
attacked and dispersed by my troops near Dunquah. 

They are trying to carry with them in their flight all the goods of which 
they have robbed you, all the wives and children whom they have stolen from 
you. 

Men of the Gold Coast, will you allow this ? 

Will you let the hours slip by whilst your wives, your sons, and your 
daughters are being driven off to slaughter by the flying enemy ? 
Will you not pursue them ? 

Now or never is the time to show that you are men. 



PUTTING LAGGARDS TO SHAME. 



I for my part shall hold no man as the friend of her Majesty, or aa the 
friend of this country, who delays for one moment. 

You have nothing to fear. I hold the whole road from here to Maiiau, so 
that they cannot assail it. Gather upon my strong forts of Dunquah, Abra- 
krampa, and Mansu. No one will venture to attack these points. Thence 
press onwards to the Prah, and oppose your enemies as they are endeavouring 
-to recross the river. If you now act quickly and with vigour, the fall of your 
enemy and the peace of your country will be secured. 

Given under my hand and public seal at Government House s Cape Ooaat, 
this thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand sight 
hundred and seventy-three, and of her Majesty's reign the thirty- seventh. 

By command, 
W. Owen Lanton, Acting Colonial Secretary. 
God Save the Queen. 

If, after this, the chiefs do not rise and throw themselves 
on the retiring foe, it will be vain for Exeter Hall to persuade 
"us that the Fantee negro is a man. But I am mistaken if 
Sir Garnet anticipates much result from his proclamation. 
If the Coast natives can withstand the incessant worrying of 
their women, no mere words will stir them. An amusing 
way of putting laggards to shame exists here. The women 
turn out by bands of twenty or so, and parade the streets 
with chalked faces, and armed with little whisks, cut from 
a palm tree. On meeting a man whom they believe to 
be shirking the fight, they dance up to him, encircle, 
and beat him with the whisks. I have already seen a 
male creature, we will not call him man, most uncomfortably 
used. 



48 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



The railway scheme is definitely abandoned, and no one 
except the indefatigable Major Home, R.E., expects the trac- 
tion engines to be of use. Sir Garnet complains that of all 
the persons who volunteered information about this coast, 
there was not one to mention that the land does not lie flat,, 
but rolls in a succession of low hills. It would take months to 
lay the rails, and we hope to make this war an affair of weeks. 
Major Home, however, is resolved to get his steam sapper 
under weigh this day or tomorrow. He tells me that he is 
little afraid of the inclines, but dreads a breakdown in some 
of the innumerable brooks that intersect the country. If the 
engines can be got to Mansu, where this officer, all alone with 
the cowardly natives, has boldly erected a stockade to resist 
ten thousand Ashantees, one half, and that the half most 
difficult, of our campaign will be achieved. 

The mail is closing. When despatches are finished and 
sent off, Sir Garnet will not be long in getting up another 
expedition, against the retreating foe. He is not inclined to 
follow the policy of building bridges for him. I have a warn- 
ing to get hammock bearers as quickly as possible ; for the 
notice of an advance, with Sir Garnet, is simultaneous with 
the word " march ! " 

In the afternoon I presented myself at Government House^ 
This handsome and spacious building is fronted by a broad 
terrace, below which lies a lawn, planted here and there with 
shrubs. The f pride of Barbadoes 3 mingles its beautiful 
tufts of scarlet and orange with the golden knobs of the 



GO VERNMENT HOUSE. 



49 



cassia and rosy disks of oleander. From the terrace, a flight 
of steps leads to the entrance on the first floor. Sir Garnet 
Wolseley presently came to me in a lofty saloon, which 
occupies half the length and all the depth of the building. 
Again one found cause to wonder at the ancient magnificence 
of Cape Coast. What a crowd of guests must the builder 
of this mansion have expected to entertain ! Sir Garnet 
made me welcome with soldierly frankness, and invited me to 
dinner the same night. He complained of the deficient or 
erroneous information furnished him by volunteer advisers in 
England. " Of the scores of people I questioned," said he, 
"there was not one who represented the interior of the 
country to be other than a level, over which a railway could 
be laid with ease. I find it to be so broken and hilly that 
nobody besides Major Home will believe it possible to take 
even the traction engine one stage towards Coomassie." 
When we had obtained a greater experience of the coast, this 
ignorance on the part of residents became intelligible. No 
merchant has ever need to travel inland, nor would he dream 
of doing so unless under strong compulsion. But it ex- 
onerates Sir Garnet and the War Office from the charge of 
precipitation or folly in ordering out the railroad. All my 
narrative will be evidence how invaluable the rail would have 
been to us ; and authorities at home could not do otherwise 
than rely upon the information to be got. 

Coming back from Government House, I found the streets 
occupied by women, fantastically dressed, chalked on forehead, 

E 



5° 



CAPE COAST CASTLE. 



breasts, and shoulders, who danced along in rhythm, shaking 
fly-flappers of silk and grass. They glided along in a double 
column, with much waving of arms and swaying of body. I 
followed the procession; and shortly, at the crossing of a 
street, a man-wretch was espied. Instantly the ranks dis- 
solved, and women and girls rushed screaming at him, capsized 
his load, scattering and kicking it, whilst they beat the 
recreant with their flappers. He, a big fellow, sulkily remon- 
strated and struggled, whilst retreating in all haste. The 
female host pursued, rushing, falling back, circling round on 
either flank, or dashing at him from the front, a crowd 
of screaming, laughing furies. And so they passed from sight, 
down the long avenue of umbrella-trees. Such scenes were 
in progress all over the town, and they, doubtless, produced 
a good effect for the time. Antique custom requires that in 
periods of pressing danger the women should pack up their 
clothes, and go about their business " all face." The theory 
is, that at such times every male must be absent at the war, 
and the fate of Peeping Tom is his who lingers about the 
town. Colonel Harley, the late governor, put a stop to this 
part of the ceremony. 

In the afternoon a mighty yelling roused me from my 
work. I thought the Ashantees must surely be at hand, and 
hastened down. The supposition was not unreasonable, for, 
only the night before, a secret order had been sent round to 
every officer, bidding him repair in haste to the castle. 
Shortly after midnight, without any alarm in the sleeping 
town, all had passed the gate, and taken their appointed 



THE LAND-STEAMER TN MOTION. 



5i 



places. Scouts had brought news that the Ashantees medi- 
tated a coup de main, and the scheme was not thought so 
improbable as to justify disregard. But this alarm of the 
following day was only caused by Major Home, R.E., who 
had at length got his traction engine into working order. It 
slowly steamed along the sea-front of the town, in the midst 
of such excitement as Cape Coast Castle has rarely seen. 
Mad with delight and astonishment, the populace turned out, 
galloping from the remotest quarters, with ungirt cloths 
flying wild, to behold the phenomenon. " The earth was all 
a yell, and the air was all a flame." Dust rose like a veil 
under those flying feet, and hid engine, sea, and sky in 
a lurid fog. Wonderful it was that no accidents occurred, for 
the people seemed demented. They thought this new machine 
to be a thunderbolt of war, designed to smash Amanquattiah 
and to blow up Coomassie, without further exertion on their 
part. No wonder the lazy, cowardly creatures were delighted 
with the " land-steamer," as they called it. But our officers 
knew too well it would serve them but very little. Only at 
some risk could the engine be forced up moderate slopes in 
the town itself, and there are sharp, steep little hills within 
two miles, over which no locomotive could travel with 
waggons attached. Two days after Major Home actually got 
the engine as far as Akroful, our second camp along the road, 
but at a fearful risk of explosion. Returning from that trip, 
it gave up further travel, and passed the remainder of its 
sojourn in West Africa peacefully employed in sawing boards. 

e 2 



52 



CHAPTEE III. 

THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKHAMPA. 

Start for Abrakrampa — Alarming Message — Painful March — Arrival— Lieut. 
Pollard, R.N. — Lieut. Woodgate — Narrow Escape of Mr. Pollard — 
The Kossus — Major Russell, Commandant — Alarums and Excursions — 
News from Dunquah — Mutiny of Houssas— Appearance and Fortification 
of the Town — A Dangerous Reconnaissance — Mr. Pollard Recalled — His 
Majesty of Abrakrampa — Arrival of Lieut. Bryan, R.N. — The Assault 
Begins — The Ashantee War Song — Boldness and Determination of the 
Enemy — A Night Attack — Renewal of the Assault — Death of Two 
Chiefs — Charge of the 2nd W.I. — Relieved by Sir Garnet — Position of 
the Ashantees — The Cape Coast Volunteers — They March Out — Hurried 
Retreat of the Enemy. 

Camp at Abrakrampa, 
November 3rd, 1873. 

The day before yesterday, at four p.m., I received a hint 
that any correspondent who wished to do his engagements 
justice had best proceed in all haste hitherwards. The 
Ashantee General, Amanquattiah, has sworn by his great oath 



START FOR ABRAKRAMPA . 



53 



to take this town before returning to Coomassie, whither the 
king has summoned him. Sir Garnet, therefore, determined 
to reinforce the small detachment of marines and blue jackets 
stationed at Abrakrampa with a force of the 2nd West India 
Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Stoker. I was 
invited to take advantage of this escort starting yesterday at 
six a.m. I had not yet succeeded in making the necessary 
arrangements for transport, but the pressing nature of this 
business stimulated my servants to unusual exertions. I have 
two, both natives of Cape Coast, one the son of a chief. They 
are lent by my kind host here under compulsion. The pair, 
both middle-aged and respectable men, find no pleasure in 
life under the taunts of their countrywomen, and they took 
advantage of my arrival to volunteer for service. With the 
greatest difficulty I found six bearers, but for the transport of 
my baggage we were obliged to take women. The celebrated 
vehicle which I call my perambulator I had long since secured ; 
it is, indeed, a sort of compromise between a child's carriage 
and a Bath-chair, accommodating one person, pulled in front 
and pushed behind. Punctually at six yesterday I entered 
the Castle yard, where the West Indians were assembled ; but 
the heavy convoy of a thousand Enfields, with ammunition, 
all to be carried on human heads, delayed us greatly. When 
at length we got under march, the bearers of the ambulance 
cots quietly deposited their burdens by the roadside and 
vanished. This necessitated a long halt. On resuming 
progress, a score or so of the transport people threw down 



54 THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



their loads and bolted into the bush, so that the sun began to 
be very warm before we had made two miles from the Castle. 
Our troops, also, were very footsore, having been campaigning 
and countermarching for some weeks. The route lay along 
the road newly cut to Mansu. It is twelve feet wide, enclosed 
on either side by the densest undergrowth. There are very 
few trees, but what there are must be called superb. The 
underwood consists of mere switches and saplings, matted 
together by the innumerable creepers of a tropical country. 
Why the Ashantees having not interfered with our workmen 
cutting this road, or with officers and police travelling over it 
every hour, is a constant subject of speculation. We met 
Captain Godwin coming down in his hammock, wounded, and 
Mr. Commissary Elliot walking, in the company of his 
native bearers only, with perfect impunity. The Ashantees 
might render the road impassable, but they have made no 
effort of any sort to interrupt our proceedings. Mr. Elliot 
gave us startling news. The enemy had been felt all along 
the jungle path from Assaboo to our destination. Startling 
indeed would it have been to hear such a report under any 
circumstances in the bush, but with troops so tired we 
could not but feel terribly anxious. Calling the sergeants 
round, Mr. Stoker gave them a short address, mentioning the 
report and charging them to see carried out the only arrange- 
ment possible under the conditions of our case. The carriers 
were sent to the rear under charge of the rear-guard ; an 
advance-guard was numbered off, and the main body formed 



PAINFUL MARCH. 



55 



four deep in the best order available. So we marched another 
mile or so, to Assaboo, as this small collection of mud-huts 
embosomed in trees mighty in girth is called. We found there 
the letter from Major Russell. It warned us to expect 
attack, probably on the left flank. It also announced that 
Major B.ussell hoped to see us at Abrakrampa by one o' clock. 
The tone of the letter showed a soldier-like anxiety which 
boded ill. 

We had hoped to rest two hours in Assaboo, but in face of 
this news not more than twenty minutes could possibly be 
allowed. The heat was most terrible, it was the hottest day for 
weeks ; tired and footsore, I could not but regret the fool- 
hardiness which had led me to march halfway to Assaboo, 
whilst my perambulator rolled empty behind. It could not 
enter the jungle path, which is barely a foot wide. There was 
nothing for me, though only three days in the country, but to 
tramp it with the negroes, Major Russell had sent to us 
twenty-four Eantees to scout along our line of march, but we 
knew too well that not one of them would even go to look for 
an Ashantee. In single file, panting, and with lips burnt, Mr. 
Stoker and I tramped on at the head of our men, who 
followed in single file ; and behind them were a thousand 
Enfield rifles borne by carriers. Whilst life endures, none of 
us can forget that march ! I cannot find words to describe 
it, and time fails me. At a village half way to Abrakrampa 
I fairly broke down, and had to take refuge in a hammock. 

Nov. 4th. I left the story of our adventures at Assaboo, 



5 6 THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



about one o'clock on Saturday. A striking air of stillness and 
dread hung over that hamlet. It is a lovely spot. Though 
huts are squalid and ruinous, nowhere in the world are 
there loftier or more graceful trees, nowhere a growth 
of flowers and soft-leaved shrubs more delicately beautiful. 
For acres round, the earth is shadowed by banana planta- 
tions, amongst the trunks of which flickers of sunlight 
sprinkle gold on the flowers below. In the street of the 
village stands a row of fig-trees. Under the .cover of 
these, a quivering aspen shade, sat all the males of the place, 
silent, waiting, their guns between their knees. A shadow 
heavier than tree can throw, lay on them — the shadow 
of the Ashantee. Their women were gone, waiting in 
the bush ; their fruits and crops lay rotting. None dared go 
forth to gather them. At the sound of an Ashantee whisper 
the Fantee flees. But we had no time to think of these 
things, no eyes for scenery, no spirit for moralising. It is 
only now, forty-eight hours after, that I recall things seen as 
in a baleful dream. With our Fantee volunteers in front, 
just for form's sake, we set out again. Led by Mr. Stoker, the 
soldiers trudged in a single line behind. It was seldom we had 
the four leading files in sight, so narrow and so winding was 
the track. The undergrowth sprang so thick that a hundred 
guns might have been pointed at us within six feet distance. 
A thousand savages might have been concealed not further 
from the path and we never have suspected it. To send West 
Indian soldiers into the bush would have been folly, even 



LIEUTENANT POLLARD, R.N. 57 



though they had been fresh ; and the Fantees walked steadily 
ahead 3 heedless of command to explore our flank. Such are 
the difficulties and the dangers of the war before us. At three 
o'clock, sick with fever and heat, we reached Abrakrampa, 
a little village, called a town in Africa. It stands upon the 
slope of a hill, in a situation favourable for defence. Many 
blacks hung about — Houssas, Kossus, and native levies. 
Fifty marines and blue-jackets were left by Sir Garnet 
Wolseley on his last raid. The merit of the very excellent 
system of defence adopted here lies between Lieutenant Pollard, 
of H.M.S. f Simoom/ and Captain Buckle, of the Engineers. 
In a war where such extraordinary courage, self-reliance, and 
devotion have been exhibited, it would be invidious and 
unjust to signal any one officer as pre-eminent. When we 
get toMansu I shall have to speak of Major Home, R.E., who 
persisted in carrying his military road up to that point, in spite 
of three recommendations to return from the General himself. 
At Acrofoo I shall mention Captain Thompson, of the Queen's 
Bays, and at other points heroic names will be signalised; but 
at this village of Abrakrampa Lieutenant Pollard is the hero of 
my tale. He came up hither on a special mission to organise 
the levies of the King of Abra, arriving on the 14th ult. with 
two policemen (natives). He found the Ashantees in force 
on every side. They had as yet received no check, excepting 
at Elmina, and were still elated by their great success of the 
Prah. The King of Abra furnished about sixty men, Fantees. 
A camp of 20,000 Ashantees lay so close that their war drums 



58 THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 

could be heard, as they can at this moment within two hundred 
yards of Abrakrampa. Why they did not attack this paltry 
nest of their hereditary foes can be no more explained than 
their disregard of our road-cutting and fortifying arrangements. 
Fortunately for Lieutenant Pollard, they did not do so, though 
every spy brought tales of the General's sanguinary designs 
against the town. Probably contempt saved it for a 
while. There was once, however, a false alarm, and Mr. 
Pollard, with horror and disgust, beheld every human being* 
fly to the bush, excepting those whom he had locked in the 
church. On the 18th, Lieutenant Woodgate came in with 
forty Houssas. The work of fortification proceeded, but nc* 
one can doubt that the two officers and their brave Mahomedans 
would have perished miserably if but a few score Ashantees 
had advanced. Only last week, Lieutenant Pollard had a 
narrow escape from death. He conducted a party of his 
Fantees to reconnoitre the enemy's camp, and the Ashantees 
espied and attacked him. Just exchanging a shot, the whole 
force bolted, except six, who threw Mr. Pollard into a 
hammock, and carried him away by paths unknown to the 
enemy. Mr. Woodgate and the young sailor worked 
manfully, until Sir Garnet, hearing of their hourly peril,, 
pushed a reconnaissance thus far, and left them fifty 
marines and blue-jackets under charge of Lieutenant Wells 
of the e Barracouta/ the officer who so distinguished himself in 
the battle of Elmina. Some hundred of native allies were 
also given them, amongst the rest a number of our Kossu 



DEADLY NATURE OF THE CLIMATE. 



friends, turn-turn, ju-ju-helmet and all. Very fine fighters 
these men have proved, somewhat to our surprise. Major 
Russell, of the 13th Hussars, took charge, with Lieutenant 
Gordon, 98th Highlanders — another of the sons England has 
much reason to he proud of — as acting staff- officer. The others 
comprising our brave little band will be named in their order. 

I was too utterly tired out, too feverish, to eat or sleep. The 
officers showed kindness of the true sort in leaviug me alone, 
only begging that I would use no restraint at all on making 
myself comfortable. They knew by experience what are the 
feelings of a man fresh from England at the conclusion of so 
long a march. I speak of a matter otherwise so unimportant 
as my own sufferings, in order that English people may 
realise, to some extent, the nature of this war. I have ex- 
perienced the sun of either tropic in many lands ; but that of 
the West African Coast, although not so severe if measured 
by the thermometer, has a deadly faintness all its own, and 
not one of those contrivances by which man diminishes its 
agony in other realms, is even heard of here. 

As the only correspondent on the spot or expected, I was 
given the room of honour in the mess-house, but at four a.m. 
arrived a confrere in hot haste, having heard of my departure. 
I was in time to take part, had it been possible, in a great 
reconnaissance of all the native forces, headed by their white 
officers, towards the Ashantee camp. Some shots were fired, 
a prisoner taken, and the enemy found to be in their former 
position with undiminished numbers. So ended the proceed- 



6o THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



ings of tlie day. Next morning a slight touch of fever de- 
clared itself, but it yielded to quinine. By every scout and 
picket we received news of great excitement in the enemy's 
€amp, and it seemed more than probable an attack was immi- 
nent. But the day passed in incessant work of brain and 
hand. Yesterday, before breakfast, the alarm was given. The 
bugle called every man to his station. Our marines and blue- 
jackets manned the church as if it had been a two-decker. I 
took my station on the roof. The Ashantees were upon us at 
last ! but a party of Kossus and Houssas, rushing to recon- 
noitre in wild glee of battle, soon announced that the repose 
of their camp was yet unbroken. One after another, how- 
ever, they brought in four prisoners — three slaves and one 
real warrior — all of whom concurred in the tale that a coun- 
cil of war had voted the attack, and it was to take place this 
morning. At six a.m. the defences were hastily completed, 
and a sudden call to arms in the afternoon showed an unex- 
pected intelligence of the arrangements made for them on the 
part of our native levies. 

Just after closing my letter yesterday, which has gone to 
Cape Coast under charge of Captain Buckle, R.E., a brisk 
alarm occurred. Most of the young officers in camp went out 
for a reconnaissance with a number of Houssas and Winebah 
men. Pushing close to the village occupied by the Ashantees, 
they came upon a new picket posted on that road. The 
leading scout, a Kossu, fired and dropped his man. Simul- 
taneously, the bullets of the picket whistled between the 



ALARUMS A AD EXCURSIONS. 61 



officers of the advance guard, but without wounding any. 
Thereupon the Winebah men were seized with a panic, and 
rushed back, capsizing all in their way. As they went they 
poured volleys of bullets into the air and the empty bush. 
In an instant our camp was alive with men hurrying to their 
stations, but the Ashantees made no demonstrations of ad- 
vance. We went into the bush after a while, and met the 
officers returning. It is the old story over again : the Hous- 
sas mad to attack, the Fantees running at the first shot. 
The Winebah men, however, seem to be heartily ashamed 
of themselves, which is a better sign. All we have learnt is 
that the enemy hold their ground. There is one comfort in 
the affair ; perhaps this slight success may encourage them to 
attack us. 

We know nothing of mails up here. A runner takes our 
post each day, and carries it to Cape Coast, or loses his head 
on the way, as the case may be. The few letters we have in 
return are military communications. The service of steamers 
on this coast is so extremely irregular that the advertised 
dates of sailing help us not a jot towards a knowledge of their 
arrivals and departures. I shall continue to note down 
any events of importance, and send the letters separately, 
trusting they will arrive in a mass from time to time. 
To-day we have had two alarms already, one of attack 
from the foe, and one of mutiny amongst the Houssas. 
On the night of the 3rd loud cheering and drumming 
were heard in the Ashantee camp, so loud, indeed, that 



62 THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



in every part of the village they were distinctly audible. 
Our scouts and two women slaves deserting reported 
that heavy reinforcements had come into the enemy from 
Dunquah, where there was a serious engagement on Mon- 
day. We have to regret the loss of Lieutenant Eardley 
Wilmot, R.A., shot through the heart, and Captain Jones, of 
the 2nd W.L, severely wounded. This news comes to us 
from Acrofoo, for we have had no communication from Dun- 
quah direct, and, with the return of a large force of Ashan- 
tees to this place, causes an unpleasant surmise. All the 
means of information to our hands point to attack as a cer- 
tainty. We were under arms all yesterday, and lay down in 
our clothes — not that that was anything novel. To-day, from 
earliest dawn, an increased noise marked the enemy's activity. 
On the brow of the hill, I could so plainly hear the 
voices and cheering that it was evident the Ashantees lay in 
great force within 200 yards of the spot. Lord Gifford, of 
the 24th Regiment, going out to reconnoitre, got so close to 
them that his interpreter was able to translate their conversa- 
tion. The chiefs were urging their men to attack, but the 
latter held back. " Here's a bit of cleared ground, with no 
one on it," exclaimed a voice, and at the same moment 
quicker eyes detected Lord Gifford and his scout behind a 
tree. Both parties fired, and an Ashantee was seen to drop. 
At other parts of the line they showed themselves feeling for 
the defenders, and an irregular fire ensued. Our enemies are 
evidently getting impatient of the long delay. All accounts 



MUTINY OF HOUSSAS. 



63 



agree that they are not aware of the sailors' presence. Lieute- 
nant Wells, indeed, received yesterday an order of recall, but 
he has written to his superior officer pointing out the peril in 
which this place would be were his men withdrawn, and 
adding that not a single case of sickness has occurred since 
the occupation began. We are waitiug the reply with some 
anxiety. A body of fifty marines arrived at Assaboo on 
Monday with a 12 lb. howitzer. That hamlet is only three 
miles from here, but three miles of bush, perhaps occupied 
by Ashantees, is as good or as bad as fifty. At noon our 
Houssas, the Mahomedan fighting negroes whom we have 
recruited, made a mutiny, which, if Mr. Wells had withdrawn 
his men, might have proved most serious. Lieutenant Gor- 
don, of the 98th, their commanding officer, ordered them out 
to build an abattis. They replied that they were soldiers, 
not slaves to work, and, on being pressed, the greater part of 
them flatly refused. Mr. Gordon ordered the ringleaders 
into custody, whereupon the whole body of mutineers 
rushed after him into the little guard-house, arms and all. 
Strong measures were evidently needed. Major Russell 
hurried down, addressed the men in a few stern words, trans- 
lated by the interpreter, and instantly sent for our invaluable 
sailors. With some pushing the Houssas were put into line, 
and piled arms after a little hesitation. The sailors came 
down from the church at the double, formed behind the line 
of rifles, and loaded in an instant. The command, " Quick 
march," was given to the Houssas, and slowly and reluctantly 



64 THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



they fell back. Meanwhile, fifty of the 2nd West Indians 
ran up and formed a second line behind the rifles. Major 
Russell then addressed the mutineers briefly, pointing out 
that a soldier's first duty is to obey, and announcing that the 
ringleaders would be sent to Cape Coast to-morrow for trial 
by court-martial. They were dismissed unarmed, with a 
warning that their Sniders would not be returned until thev 
had apologised to Mr. Gordon and promised to obey for the 
future. Most fortunate was it that we had the white men 
at hand, and a commander so quick and resolute as Major 
Hussell, or wild work might have ensued. 

It is evident that Amanquattiah, the Ashantee Genera^ 
must make a move somewhere soon. Colonel Wood is known 
to have occupied Essicoomah on Monday night, and should 
be advancing fast on his rear. The Marines, with their 
dreaded howitzer, are at Assaboo. We hold this place, and 
at Dunquah is Colonel Festing, who attacks the enemy every, 
day. The Ashantee position gets intolerable. They have 
not enough to eat, and sickness of many kinds is decimating 
them. Amanquattialr's son died of small-pox last week — a 
calamity which entailed the massacre of many wretched 
slaves. Discontent prevails, by all accounts. The fighting 
men want to get home, to enjoy well-earned repose and the 
booty of their campaign. The chiefs, fearing for their heads, 
will not go back until the recent disasters have been avenged. 
It is at Abrakrampa that they hope to wipe out all scores, 
and to-morrow is the fateful day. 



APPEARANCE OF THE TOWN. 65 



5th. I closed a very hasty note yesterday with an announce- 
ment that the long-expected attack upon our camp was coming 
off this morning without fail. No one doubted this time, 
whether here or at Cape Coast. In the middle of the night 
arrived Lieutenant Saunders, R.A., with a reinforcement of 
twenty police, and a small signal gun. Colonel Wood is also 
reported to be on the march from Elmina to our assistance ; 
and this news I have every reason to believe. Although our 
scouts report all quiet in the Ashantee camp, most of the 
officers are afraid that our savage foe has taken alarm and 
means to retreat without an action. Anyhow, it is evident 
that Abrakrampa is a centre of interest at this moment, and 
ours is the turning-point of the invasion. 

The appearance of the town may be better described 
now, whilst one has time and calmness for observation ; 
in a little while we may be too busily engaged for sketch- 
ing:. There is one street in it, narrow at the lower part, 
but widening to a handsome breadth opposite the mess- 
house, once a missionary residence. This open space is 
shadowed by a few small trees, which, if they bear fruit, 
are unknown by name to us. Above this Place d'Armes 
the huts close in for some yards, leaving another open 
space before the church, from which one can see down to 
the clearing on which the Assaboo road debouches. A 
ditch and rampart have been thrown across, fifty yards from 
the end of the huts, all of which are loopholed for direct or 
flank firing. At the cross street, right and left on the edge 



66 



THE AFFAIR 01 ABRAKRAMPA. 



of the cleared ground, West Indian soldiers, with the Kossus 
and other Sierra Leone recruits, have their station. The 
soldiers occupy flanking huts and light barricades; the natives 
guard the open. Armed police lend their aid in case these pre- 
cautions fail to keep back the enemy. In that event our troops 
retire behind the rampart and ditch in the street itself, and to 
the houses on each side, reinforcing the supports on either 
flank, who would still be guarding the ditches, huts, 
and devious ways. At the main guard, or Place d J Amies, 
the principal force of natives is collected, ready to support any 
point. The greater part of our invaluable Houssas have their 
station here, and with them are some four hundred stupid 
and cowardly Abras. Behind the mission-house, on the 
right flank of the works, the hill rises very steeply, and twelve 
Houssas are considered ample to defend this approach from 
the walled courtyard. The fifty yards above on this side are 
guarded by huts with bamboo stockades. Thence to the 
church — twenty yards or so — the sailors and marines take 
charge, allowing no Fantees to pass. These have been 
unmistakably informed that if they fly thither for pro- 
tection, they will be met by a worse fire than that they 
are escaping, The left flank is broken thence at every point, 
by parapets, walls, and loopholes. The church, of course, is 
our main reliance. With but a few more men it would be 
absolutely impregnable to native troops, however brave. 

The incidents of garrison life in an outpost expecting attack 
are much the same in all wars. Pick and spade are cease- 



GARRISON LIFE IN AN OUTPOST. 67 



lessly hand-led; engineers make drawings, cross them with 
radii of fire, and sit deep musing over their own productions; 
enterprising young officers take a few men for an hour's stroll 
in the enemy's direction ; soldiers dose through the hot hours 
of the day, waking only to eat and smoke, and to heartily 
curse the foe who does not come on. A boy is caught 
selling the prohibited grog, is tried, convicted, lashed 
to a tree, and howls peccavi to the tune of a rope's 
end. By the bye, we have had a chief tied up. Mr. 
Pollard, who is always busy, took out a scouting party of 
Fantees, and was suddenly surprised to observe them pushing 
manfully to the front out of sight. A few moments after, the 
mystery was explained when he came to a by-path on which 
every man had sloped. For making no effort to stop this 
disgraceful proceeding, and for refusing to produce the 
cowards, on his return to camp, the chief in command of 
them received three dozen well laid on. He bore the punish- 
ment well. 

I shall not attempt to prophesy what the Ashantee move- 
ment or our own will be ; for my part, I think it very prema- 
ture to believe them cowed because they have not kept faith 
in attacking us this morning. Last night there was heavy 
firing at their camp up to a very late hour. It may well be 
supposed that we are on the qui vive. The Ashantees are 
not accustomed to fight at night, for the thorns and sticks of 
the bush are desperate obstacles to barefooted troops ; but the 
moon is at the full, and it must be remembered that in the 

f2 



68 THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 

art of war our enemy is not to be classed as a mere savage. 
He is unquestionably brave, has a military system by no 
means barbarous, and practises many tactics. His range of 
ideas in this respect is altogether remarkable. Major Russell 
neglects no precaution of pickets and outposts, but who can 
see that his orders are carried out in the bush at night ? We 
cannot but feel anxious as dark comes on, and we hear unex- 
plained firing in the bush, and the rumbling of war drums, 
and the tinkling of war chiefs' triangles. About ten o'clock 
last night, when the moon was at its brightest, two shots 
close by our camp brought out nearly every officer. Major 
Russell and Lieutenant Wells, R.N., slipped through the 
stockade to reconnoitre personally. Half-a-dozen blue-jackets 
stole after to see the fun. The mystery of night, the hazy 
shadows of the forest, quelled even these reckless spirits, and 
they talked in whispers, gathered round the sentry ; he, 
standing on a pile of brush, leaned forward, with rifle pointed, 
listening to the night voices — faint, dreamy, and mysterious. 
It was a picture for Yernet. The moonlight spread its livery 
of blue and silver upon the narrow clearing. At half-musket 
shot the forest loomed, grey at its crown, blue-black in the 
shadow beneath. Upon the grey hung a band of silvery 
cloud, the deadly moisture rising from the earth. Fireflies 
gleamed for a moment and went out, or clung like tiny lights 
upon a spray. Faintly the monotonous beat of turn- turns 
reached us from the Ashantee camp ; faintly the cry of prowl- 
ing animals came from the forest. A solitary shot, like the 



HIS MAJESTY OF ABRAKRAMPA. 69 



boom of a distant drum, reminded us of the morrow's 
menace, but so still and peaceful was^the scene, so softly 
romantic the light, it needed an effort to recall the truth of 
our situation. Half an hour welingered with ears painfully 
strained, until the giant figures of our chiefs returning showed 
themselves against the background, and relieved us of our 
anxiety. 

Yesterday Lieutenant Pollard, R.N., was recalled, and 
proceeded to Dunquah the same evening, a perilous journey. 
His offence is rank against the precious majesty of Abra, and 
that doughty monarch has the influence to avenge himself. 
Lieutenant Pollard, standing five feet five, threatened to punch 
the royal head, towering above him at a height of six feet 
four. His majesty burst into tears, and lodged a complaint 
with Major Russell, who was bound to forward it. Mr. 
Pollard alleges that the king is injuring the defence by his 
cowardice, laziness, and drunken habits. Perhaps it is not 
the best way of correcting him to threaten a black eye, but 
let me point out that some allowance is due in a hot climate, 
and, moreover, the threat was not carriedjnto effect. I must 
give a few words to the king of Abra. He is, or was, rather, 
a remarkable character, a man of note at the Gold Coast. 
His age was about eight- and-twenty or thirty, stature most 
unusual, and features decidedly handsome. We made him 
out to be six feet four in naked soles, but he always wore 
thick sandals. His figure was not good, being too narrow at 
the shoulders, but he had an upright carriage, not devoid of 



7 o THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



stateliness when sober, and his strength, no doubt, was con- 
siderable. Nothing of the negro marked his face, except the 
colour. He had a habit of stalking about, draped in ten 
yards or so of old brocade or damask, monstrously like a 
dirty table-cloth, with bogy inside. He used to drink vast 
quantities of palm wine, which very thoroughly intoxicates for 
a time; I would not hint that our king was above consum- 
ing other liquors, for no statement could be more opposed to 
truth. He would drink whatever was offered him, he would 
smoke any pipe lying on the table, and he would prig tobacco 
from white or black with equal condescension. We dreaded the 
royal visit, especially at morning, when his majesty had break- 
fasted on palm wine. Such was the king of Abra, now dead. 
Before decease, however, he found an opportunity of showing 
his gratitude to England for the preservation of his life and 
territory. When the Ashantees fled, he flatly refused to pur- 
sue, and when six hundred carriers were assessed as his con- 
tribution, he supplied one hundred and fifty. But, on the 
strength of Philistinic height, prominent nose, and gentle 
eyes, he found people who believed in him to the last. 
Amongst them was not Lieutenant Pollard, who paid the 
penalty. 

Before leaving for Dunquah, Pollard visited the king, who 
straightway asked of him a u dash," or present. His next 
visit was to the chief so severely flogged yesterday for desert- 
ing his officer and encouraging his men to do the like. This 
potentate Pollard found in a hut, surrounded by wives and 



ARRIVAL OF LIEUT. BRYAN, R.JV. 



slaves, who howled as for the dying. Pollard pushed through 
to a heap of palm leaves on which lay the chief, and offered 
him his hand, saying, " I am going away, chief. We have 
been a long time together in face of the enemy, and I should 
like to part as a friend/' The chief, when this was interpreted, 
fervently grasped the offered hand, and said, " You are a 
leopard of war. We black men are sheep before the butcher. 
Give me a shilling." Pollard hastily forked out a bob, and 
sloped in a hurry. Only slang seems appropriate for the telling 
of this mean tale ! It is true, however, for I have verified 
it. Does any one want more evidence as to the value of our 
Fantees ? Captain Bromhead takes Lieutenant Pollard's place. 

Yesterday afternoon arrived Lieutenant Bryan, R.N., with 
Kroomen carriers from the fleet. He brought a peremptory 
order to Lieutenant Wells to withdraw his sailors and marines. 
Amongst the Kroomen was a red-headed fellow, immensely 
broad of shoulder, blue-eyed, fair-skinned, tattooed on cheek 
and nose after the fashion of his tribe. This is the son of an 
American captain. He speaks no word of English, but any 
casual observer would take him for an Englishman. Lieu- 
tenant Bryan waits to see what will come of Mr. Wells' 
application for delay. 

Other recruits we have the same day. Thirty-two Kossus 
suddenly turn up, headed by an extraordinary little giant 
whom we call the Commander. Sixteen of these men have 
deserted from Colonel Wood at Beulah, and Major Russell is 
puzzled what to do with them. They have committed no 



72 THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA 



military crime according to their own code. Lieutenant 
Gordon, 93rd, recruited them, and him they have come to 
seek. By what means it was borne to them that Mr. Gordon 
lay at Abrakrampa, and by what instinct it was given them 
to find their way hither, through trackless forests, through a 
population understanding no word of their language, not I 
nor any of us can tell ; but these strange fellows duly turned 
up and offered themselves to the man who raised them, as 
pigeons find their home. The little Commander headed the 
band, and marched his men straight up to the mess-house, in 
the door of which he stood, the quaintest and most striking 
figure. I was writing there at the moment. The mess-house 
has one little room in the middle, with two tiny bed-chambers 
on each side. Facing the village is one door, and, opposite to 
it, a larger entrance, looking into a small courtyard with 
cook-houses and huts all round. Once on a time this little 
court was sacred to Abra children, and the domestic privacy 
of the mission- wife, who there cooked her simple meal, and 
tried to inculcate our English cuisine amongst the damsels of 
Abrakrampa. At present, it is occupied by a dozen Moslem 
Houssas, who lounge and smoke and sleep beneath the shadow 
of the mud wall. Two or three sentries keep watch and ward, 
peering across the valley, in the pool at bottom of which are 
always some of their number bathing. The valley is filled 
with boughs and pointed, broken trunks, forming an abattis 
most dangerous to barefoot troops. At the rise on the other 
side springs the eternal forest, sunny, brilliant, mysterious. 



THE ASSA ULT BEGINS, 



73 



But I was speaking of the Commander. He stood in the 
outer doorway, and made noises. I looked up, as did Mr. 
Gordon, 98th. We saw a tiny man, scarce five feet high, but 
built like a little giant. His torso made a study for a painter, 
so muscular, graceful, and firm it was. He wore no dress 
except the crimson loin-cloth. Now, as ever, some comrade 
bore his rifle and accoutrements. Upright and sturdy, a very 
picture of the savage, he swaggered in the sunlit doorway. 
Across his forehead remained the scar of a desperate wound, 
received many years ago. The skull itself gaped so widely 
one could place a finger in the dent. Often shall I have need 
to refer to the Commander. 

5 P.M. 

During a slight cessation of the furious fire we have 
been undergoing on the left front for the last hour and 
a half, I hasten to record the story of Act 1 in our little 
drama. The cheering, drumming, and desultory shots which 
liad amused us all the morning grew louder and more frequent 
as the day wore on. At about 3.30 p.m. our line suddenly 
opened, and all rushed to their respective stations. No chance 
of a false alarm this time. When I reached the church roof 
the volleys of our men had been stopped, but the Ashantee 
muskets alone, booming and full-voiced as small artillery, 
made a deafening fusillade. Our foes were still in the bush, 
but quite upon the edge. Columns of smoke arose amongst 
the trees as volley after volley was fired by the thousands 
congregated in one spot or another. They were evidently 



74 THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



working down towards the valley lying along our left 
flank. 

Suddenly, as we looked out through the bamboo rafters — 
for our church has been unthatched for fear of fire — a myriad 
voices struck up the Ashantee war song. Very grand and 
stirring it is, sounding quite unlike any savage music I had 
heard hitherto. With ten thousand voices chanting in 
chorus, for there was all that number, the effect was so fine 
that no wonder Fantee hearts fail them at the sound. Scores 
of horns modulated in tone played a wild accompaniment, and 
even the turn -turns came in harmoniously. When the song 
was finished, the fusillade recommenced more furiously than 
ever. Inspirited by their own noise, and stirred, as we hear, 
by the encouragement of their women, posted behind, the 
enemy rushed into sight. They were met, however, by a fire 
too crushing for savages to stand, and again they fell back, to 
sing, drum a little, and madly fire and advance once more. I 
could not have believed that troops armed with muzzle-loaders, 
for the most part, could have kept up such a thundering roar. 
The sunny landscape was so draped in smoke, lurid and yellow 
in the declining rays, that we could not see a foot distant from 
the church top. Through the dense cloud now and again a 
line of leaping flame close to the ground told that our troops 
were firing. At longer intervals the Sniders made an angry 
crackle borne above the din. In the thick of the fight, just 
as a warning, Lieutenant Wells gave the order for a volley 
from both " decks." On the port side issued a sheet of flame 



BOLDNESS OF THE ENEMY. 



75 



that stilled the uproar for a moment, to recommence imme- 
diately. The church became silent again, though every sailor 
lay expectant and eager behind his breastwork of rolled tents 
or boxes of earth. Every marine stood at the ready by win- 
dow and loop-hole. What a contrast on the two sides of the 
building ! To starboard all was green and sunny ; the higher 
trees alone were dimmed at top by a thin wreath of smoke, 
whilst the grass green of the lower bush, endless in variety 
of tone and shape of leaf, stood out in all the brilliant clear- 
ness of tropic light. To port, heaven and earth were hidden 
in smoke, impenetrable yellow in mid sky, grey-blue in the 
eddies and puffs near earth. Towards 5 p.m., after an hour 
and a half of hideous uproar, the enemy's fire began to 
slacken, and a rocket from the church, well directed, reduced 
them to comparative silence, We took advantage of the 
break to get some dinner, during which all the talk was of 
narrow escapes. Every one is astonished at the boldness and 
persistence of the attack, and marvels that savages can 
keep up such a heavy fire. Opinions are divided as to the 
probability of a night attack, but T myself feel sure they 
will come on again this time, be their regular practice what it 
may. 

Nov. 6t7i, 10.30 a.m. 
At 7.30 last night the row began anew. It had never 
ceased, indeed, but I mean to express that savage hubbub 
of song, horn, and musketry which marks a real attack. 
The moon had just risen when the Sniders of the 2nd West 



76 THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



Indian Regiment posted on our left flank gave notice of a new 
attempt in another direction. This time, under cover of the 
night and their own smoke, the Ashantees made a furious 
rush upon our lines. Some say they came within twenty 
yards. If so, the aim of our troops must have been very wild, 
for there is no trace of blood in front of them this morning ; 
although not being on the spot, I should not care to 

4.30 p.m. 

At the moment I have marked with a line, my placid 
meditations were disturbed by the renewal of the vacarme, 
more furious, if that be possible, than on the day before. 
But the interrupted story must be finished. I think I was 
about to say that I should not care to contradict eye- 
witnesses. Having seen to-day the spirit and steadiness of 
our West Indian troops, I almost feel justified in declaring 
that, if under any advantage an attacking force were so in- 
judicious as to come within twenty Really these lines 

become ridiculous — the fact is, I have just been struck upon 
the leg by a spent slug, which, as everybody knows, will give a 
sting. To resume : the 2nd West Indians fired her Majesty's 
ammunition with the greatest liberality, if not accuracy ; so 
did the Houssas, now penitent; so did the Winebahs and 
Mampons, and all our miscellaneous recruits ; but the most ex- 
travagant of them were outdone by the King's men, the natives 
of the place, who really fired as if the whole end of this war 
was to encourage the trade in lead and gunpowder. Heedless 



RENEWAL OE THE ASSAULT. 



77' 



of the direction in which the enemy might be lying, deaf to 
entreaty and unconscious of command, they blazed away to- 
wards every point of the compass at once, and kept np the 
fusillade without regard to time or the limited contents of their 
pouches. It is probable, however, that the Ashantees, though 
more determined, are at least as reckless in the use of arms, 
for the indiscriminate blazing of our black allies seemed to 
daunt them as much as the better regulated fire of the disci- 
plined troops. Any way they did not mark out their station 
for particular attack, which was fortunate. As regards the 
tactics of the engagement I can give no information, for the 
truth is that none were displayed. The arrangements for 
defence, begun by Lieutenant Pollard, improved and extended 
by Captain Buckle, of the Engineers, and supervised by Major 
Russell, of the Lancers, proved to be so excellent that every 
position left to native guard was flanked by a fire from troops 
more or less trustworthy. Our little i Nelly/ too, the yacht 
signal gun, forgotten years ago at Cape Coast Castle, made 
herself both heard and felt from the roof of the church. Never- 
theless, the Ashantees persevered in their attack, returning when 
repulsed, dashing here and there with ominous obstinacy. 
Though they knew they had much the best of it, our natives 
began to show anxiety. They have such a long memory of de- 
feat and humiliation. Something decidedly effective was re- 
quired, and the something required turned up. Lieutenant 
Gordon marked down one particular spot in the enemy's line 
whence the firing was unusually active and concentrated. 



2 HE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



After long observation from various points, Mr. Wells, 
himself aimed a rocket at the place. Like a fiery demon the 
missile hurtled down the slope, sped across the valley, and burst 
with a roar at the very spot. Loud shouts and broken ver- 
sicles of the war-song burst out at this event; but they were 
shouts of consternation. The rocket was thrown about 1.30 
a.m. From that hour the firing died gradually away till four 
p.m., when it ceased. 

This morning bsts ran high that the Ashantees had had 
enough of it. The scouts sent to their late position brought 
back such evidence of a hasty flight, in arms and fetiches and 
furniture abandoned, that the believers in another engagement 
feli: wavering in their faith. Only one corpse had been found, 
whereof the head was produced — head of a pleasant-looking 
youth, shot through the brain from behind ; but the scouts 
reported an abundance of blood and marks of bodies dragged 
through the grass. They also found, later in the morning, a 
twelve-foot road recently cut through the bush parallel to our 
left flank, in which also were many tokens of disaster. But 
between ten and eleven a.m. to-day — we have few watches 
here, and of those few that go — doubt was set at rest. Dog- 
gedly the foe recommenced his attack on our left front as 
before. Major Russell had posted twenty Kossus on the 
extreme brow of our hill, where they could fire on the enemy 
advancing. But the Kossu differs from most other negroes 
in that he belongs to a race trusting in cold steel. Without 
shadow of fear, the picket slowly withdrew to join its 



ATTACK OF THE WEST INDIANS. 79 



comrades formed in line below the hill as soon as the Ashantees 
advanced. 

Beneath the brow, wholly hidden from our sight, but not 
from the sight of those posted on the left flank, is a green 
valley thick with plantations and brush. Down this the 
Ashantees advanced slowly, skirmishing in bodies of perhaps 
a hundred each. We returned no answer to their thundering 
fire. Suddenly the quick eyes of our sailors in the church 
detected a brighter colour in the smoke. "They're creeping 
up the hill," they cried. Nearer and nearer the gun-cracks 
sounded, whiter grew the smoke. " Let them come, let them 
come; don't frighten them," was the cry; but human nature 
could not stand the temptation when a fine fellow, most par- 
ticularly black, showed himself above the brow waving a 
sword and cheering his men on. " What a plucky nigger ! " 
we exclaimed ; " hurrah for him ! " But he fell at the word, 
riddled with our bullets. His men drew off in great haste 
probably, but the others in the valley continued their advance 
firing; on the boom of their volleys the sharp crackling of 
rifles was angrily borne. This came from the Houssas and 
West Indians far down on the left, who had all the valley 
open before them. Suddenly, whilst we waited for something 
to fire at, Major Russell's voice was heard shouting, "Don'c 
fire ; I'm going to send twenty of the 2nd West Indians to 
clear the hill." Almost at the word the fine fellows lying in 
the trench below crept swiftly out, mounted the slope in 
a run, and poured a deadly fire from its crest. The enterprise 



2 HE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



needed courage of no low order, and well was it performed. 
The Ashantees fled back up the valley, pursued as far as the 
bush by their antagonists, the first of whom, charging right 
up to the deadly brushwood, was Captain Grant. To over- 
take them ran an eager band of Kossus, armed with the 
sword only. They came galloping back in twos and threes 
together, laden with spoil and dripping heads, which told how 
deadly had been our single volley and the crushing fire of the 
2nd West Indians. A hearty cheer we gave those gallant 
fellows as they leisurely returned beneath our lofty station. 
But as they retired the Ashantees reoccupied their former 
place without a moment's delay. Once more a brave fellow 
showed himself upon the hill crest, and again there was a cry 
to lead them on. But he, a fair-skinned man this time, 
tumbled headlong, like the other, under our irrepressible 
storm of bullets. The West Indians charged again and yet 
again, the last time driving back our enemy to the recesses of 
the bush, but still at their retirement the puffs of smoke 
spread gradually on until the lost positions were reoccupied 
and the Ashantees spread slowly but surely across our front 
and down either flank, until at the moment at which I write 
three parts of the ellipse round our position are wrapped 
in smoke. Numbers even greater than we had thought must 
they have had to complete such an investment. The fire 
slackens nowhere, and yet tree by tree, and copse by copse, 
the ring of fire completes itself. f Nelly/ our tiny gun, has 
burnt three-fourths of her ammunition ; the rockets are all 



RELIEVED BY SIR GARNET. 



81 



expended. We in the church, the West Indians on either 
flank, and the Houssas, have fired volley after volley ; the native 
levies have made their ridiculous assaults, and the Kossus have 
sallied out again and again ; but still these resolute savages 
creep on, with incessant roar of gun and song. Their losses 
have been heavy, beyond doubt. All the earth round our 
position is thick with corpses. The Houssas in one point- 
blank volley killed many a score, as Lieutenant Gordon 
assures me, having passed >over the ground ; but I fear the 
scheme they have in view is utterly to harass us, to give us no 
rest day or night until exhaustion opens some gap. Unless 
help comes they may possibly succeed. 

7.30 p.m. 

Help has come, and in the best shape. Sir Garnet him- 
self, with 300 marines and blue- jackets, 100 men of the 
2nd West Indians, and 20 Houssas, arrived by forced 
marches on the Assaboo road an hour ago. He brings supplies 
and ammunition, both sorely needed at the time of his arrival. 
Slugs were falling like rain in the lower part of the town, 
and scarcely more than three hundred yards of the circuit 
remained clear. 

With the reckless indifference to scouting which appears 
usual with the Ashantees, the General's approach seems to 
have been quite unsuspected, and he found it open. Most 
glad were we all to see him, after twenty-four hours of almost 
incessant fighting. It is not that we have any serious loss 
to mourn. The returns are not yet made out, but our 

G 



82 THE AFFAIR OF ABRAKRAMPA. 



doctor informs me that twenty-five cases of wounded is the 
utmost he expects to reckon up. Amongst them is a marine, 
hit by a slug in the eye, dangerously ; and another in the 
neck, severely. The remainder are natives, Houssas and 
Kossus. Only one West Indian was hit in all their gallant 
charges. It was not the slugs of the enemy we feared, but 
their prodigious numbers, which enabled them to harass us 
by day and night, and to keep us always awake. From this 
anxiety we are now relieved. Sir Garnet Wolseley's plans 
are most decidedly secret, and I shall not speculate as to 
his intended movements ; but it is reasonable to think that 
he would not wish to press the enemy too hard from this 
direction. Colonel Wood is already in their rear; Colonel 
Testing, at Dunquah, harasses them without ceasing; Major 
Russell, on the contrary, had imperative instructions not to 
attack. It is probable, therefore, that the General desires 
to push his foes homewards towards the Prah, perhaps ex- 
pecting a great muster of their hereditary enemies at the 
Ford, where, if defeated, they cannot split up in bands to 
hurry against the wretched Fantees. Such would most 
likely be the result, if he drove them to despair thus far 
from home. 

On the Eoof of Abrakrampa Church, November 7th, 1873. 
To be relieved after a siege is a pleasure not without its 
drawbacks. Our space was a little cramped when I came 
last Saturday, and troops have been coming in ever since. 
The arrival of the General, attended by his staff and nearly 



THE DEFENDING FORCE. 



two hundred whites, has driven the Quartermaster to despair. 
Almost all of us besieged residents have been turned from 
bed and board. I have taken refuge on the church top, and 
think myself to be congratulated on the shelter of a thatch- 
less, roof. Our little mess of four in the king's palace — 
somewhat darker, smaller, and less comfortable than a 
labourer's cottage at home — has been swollen by a succes- 
sion of additions to an indeterminate number. Cooking and 
serving go on all day ; whilst, to increase our amusing miseries, 
Lieutenant Hart, of the 31st Regiment, has ruthlessly 
demolished our cookhouse in the interests of his fortifica- 
tions ; but there is compensation even here, for one of the new 
chums (Captain Fremantle, commanding the Naval Brigade), 
positively brought up the scrag-end of a leg of mutton, the 
first fresh meat we had tasted since coming here. I had 
curiously forgotten previously to give the description of our 
defending force. Those who have the right to tell the tale 
of this humorous but important siege, are 610 in number; 
of these 53 are whites — sailors and marines from the c Simoom' 
and 'Barracouta'; 93 are West Indian troops of the 2nd 
Regiment, under Captain Grant and Lieutenant Stoker; 100 
Houssas, commanded by Lieutenant Gordon, 98th Regiment; 
110 Kossus, under Lieutenant Woodgate, 64 Sierra Leone 
Volunteers, and 54 Mampons make Major Russell's regiment, 
with 95 Winnebahs, under Lieutenant Lord Gifford, 24th 
Regiment; and 12 police are attached to the post service. 
Besides these, there are 30 Kroomen belonging to the men- 



8 4 



THE AFFAIR OF A BRAKE A MP A . 



of-war, who certainly appear to be as brave as possible. The 
Fantee forces I do not profess to number, nor does any one 
feel interest in the matter. Such cowardly, slavish wretches 
are not fit to be counted. To-day, in addition to those coming 
last night, near 1000 men of the Cape Coast Volunteers 
have marched in. They have the reputation of being 
desperate scoundrels, only restrained by their cowardice. 
Colonel Wood also has just arrived from Beulah with 
50 of the 2nd West Indians, some natives, and a horse. 

In the afternoon, the Ashantees displaying no desire to 
attack in force, Sir Garnet ordered out the volunteers. The 
very drollest of all military spectacles was their advance. 
Such an army would be held too grotesque even for 
Christmas in the pantomime. In front of the procession 
stalked a fetish-man, clothed in strips of scarlet cloth 
like a scare-crow. Those wretches behind might have been 
the very worst cases of disease confided to his skill. Fifty, 
I feel sure, were more or less blind. Scores halted, and 
several had but one arm. They marched in companies, under 
standards of impossible monstrosity. Never, never did troops 
defile comparable with those I saw when, at 3.30 p.m., the 
thousand Cape Coast warriors marched towards the bush on 
our left flank. It was not only a hideousness of face, a 
distortion of limb, a mere unconsciousness of discipline, 
which struck the beholder;* on nearly all their various 

* The class from which the Cape Coast Volunteers were recruited is shown 
ex post facto by tfie following document : 



THE VOLUNTEERS MARCH OUT. 85 



features sat the imprint of vice, and, above everything, 
an air of simple, helpless "funk." Very slowly, and 
in perfect silence, they followed the flags, adorned with 
lions, pigs, severed heads, and other encouragements 
to -valour. The Kossus, through whose station lay their 
route, laughed heartily, as did Houssas, West Indians, and 
even the General, to notice their woebegone expression. 
But it was too evident that such soldiers would never advance 
a yard save under compulsion; and the Kossus received 
orders to drive them on. Very, very slowly the long line 

Judicial Assessor's Court, held in the Beulah Camp, Nov. 14, 1873. 

By the laws and customs of this land, every person ought to assist in the 
defence of his country against its enemies, and if he does not do so willingly, 
he ought to be compelled to do so. We, therefore, the Judicial Assessor 
and Chiefs of Cape Coast, in a special court held in the Camp at Beulah, do 
issue the following orders : 

1st. Every able-bodied man not already engaged in the service of his 
country is immediately to present himself for that service. 

2nd. Every able-bodied man refusing to do so, without proper excuse, is to 
be arrested and compelled to work without any pay. 

3rd. Any person engaged in the service of his country who shall be proved 
guilty of disobedience or insubordination, is to be subject to the punishment 
•of flogging. 

(Signed) James Maeshall, Judicial Assessor. 
Chief Q.uasie Attah, his + mark. 
„ Coffee Amooah „ „ 
„ coffee yammie „ „ 
„ Coffee Sacket „ „ 
„ cudjoe asal „ „ 
„ Ee:mo „ „ 



86 THE AFFAIR OF A BRAKRAMPA. 



wound across the open, and vanished in the forest, Kossus 
running and laughing at their tail. We took station along 
the flank of our works to watch the result. All morning 
there had been a desultory fire, mostly of sharpshooters, on 
either side. Watching their opportunity, the sailors silenced 
several enemies who had been troublesome on the previous 
day ; and a West Indian, from the church, was seen to drop a 
warrior who had been particularly obnoxious. No firing 
came from the quarter in which the volunteers had dis- 

And at their own request signed by 



Captain 


Quow Abkoon his + 


mark. 


No. 1. 




Quasie Etsin „ 


ii 


No. 1. 


»> 


Q.UOW ASSIMAH „ 


ii 


No. 2. 


n 


CUDJOE Ekoom „ 


ii 


No. 2. 


»> 


Coffee Mooasu „ 


ii 


No. 3. 


>> 


CUDJOE TOMPOLU „ 


ii 


No. 3. 


ii 


QUAMINA AMINAH „ 


»i 


No. 4. 


11 


QUOW KOOTAH „ 


ii 


No. 4. 


ii 


Quasie Amaeahiah „ 


ii 


No. 5. 


» 


QUOW ESIEAH „ 


ii 


No. 5. 


»• 


CUDJOE AEEIM „ 


j« 


No. 6. 


ii 


QUAMINA SACKEY „ 


ii 


No. 6. 


ii 


QUAMINA KAECOOM „ 


ii 


No. 7. 


n 


Cudjoe Akin „ 




No. 7. 


ii 


QUABINA QUAH AOIL „ 


ii 


No. 9. 


ii 


Quacoe Saneah „ 


ii 


No. 9. 


We agree to the above : 


Chief James Eobeet Thompson. 




Chief John Mayan, 


his + 


mark. 



Court House, Cape Coast, Nov. 14, 1873. 



PURSUIT OF THE RETREATING ARMY. 87 



appeared^ but the Kossus sent word that no efforts would 
make them move from the edge of the forest. At 4.30 
p.m. a rumour spread, coming I know not whence^ 
that the Ashantees had fled, abandoning camp, slaves, 
loot, and furniture. Authentic information came in about 
5.30 p.m. 

Several parties of scouting Kossus and Houssas, with 
some hundreds of Fantees, were ordered out at once by 
Sir Garnet. Joining himself to a number of them, Mr. 
Commissary Richardson dashed over our hill and down 
the path so often swept by the fire of the 2nd West 
Indians on the second day's fighting. How fatal that fire 
had been was proved by numerous bodies lying in the path, 
and more certainly by the faint smell that hung on the 
night air. The Fantees could not be persuaded or forced 
below the hill, but the Houssas resolutely declared themselves 
ready to follow the white man anywhere. So Mr. Richardson 
went forward at a run, followed by Houssas, firing wildly, but 
not quite ineffectually, into the bush. Of course he was not 
a bit surprised to be overtaken by Lieutenant Gordon, of the 
98th. Wherever enterprise is wanted this officer presents 
himself. Nine prisoners they captured in a gallant run to 
Addismadi, all of them emaciated to the last degree. The 
Kossus also brought in much loot, and several slaves. It 
was too dark for serious operations that night, and so we 
went triumphantly to dinner. The fact of our victory is 
certain. The Ashantee force is utterly split up, hanging 



88 THE AFFAIR AT ABRAKRAMPA. 



together by mere force of terror. The king's son, Sey Kojo, 
who relieved Amanquattiah of the command, was killed on the 
second day. His body is gone to Coomassie. Amanquattiah 
himself is wounded, and the war on this side the Prah may be 
considered at an end. 



8 9 



CHAP TEE IY. 

AN ABANDONED CAMP. 

Naval Humours — Slaves Eeleased — Their Tortures and Sufferings — Sights in 
the Abandoned Camp — Fearful Odours — -Our Casualties — The Loot — 
Amanquattiah's Chair and Bedstead — Keturn to Cape Coast — Rally of 
the Ashantees — Fatal Panic Amongst our Men — Firing on one Another — 
Disarming of the Fantees — The Gatling Gun — Theft at the House — 
Fetish Trials — Tmpotency of English Law — Secret Power of the Chiefs — 
Appeal to the Women — Arrival of Wassaw Deputation — Unwillingness of 
Fantees to Help Us — Secrets of Cape Coast Trade — Illness of Sir Garnet 
— Eazzia Amongst the Negroes — Incidents of the Fray — My Cook — 
Disastrous Triumph — News from Captain Glover — Start for the Front — 
"Stupor of Sleep in Negro Children — A Night at Asseyboo — Pleasures of 
the Bivouac in West Africa — Colonel Evelyn Wood — Akroful — Accom- 
modation there — Fireflies — Eats — The Commander — Kossu Arrogance 
— Dunquah — History of this Camp. 

Cape Coast Castle, November 9th, 1873. 
It was about 3.30 a.m. on Saturday morning that the 
sailors woke me from unquiet slumber on the church top by 
commencing the operation which they called " washing 



9 o 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



decks." These good fellows persisted in regarding their 
fortalice as a two- decked vessel, with port and starboard 
quarters : nor could they be persuaded that the siege was not 
a sort of picnic, kindly devised by their superior officers, in 
concert with the Ashantees, as a pleasant break in the 
routine of service. Some of the fo'ksle jokes I heard were 
smart enough, as when the firing ceased for a moment on 
Thursday night, and a quartermaster exclaimed, — " Interval 
of ten minutes, mates ; the concert will recommence with the 
popular air, ' Slap, bang, here we are again ! ' 99 But the 
operation of washing decks, on this morning, was preparatory 
to a march. Sir Garnet did not desire to keep a man from 
his vessel longer than needful, and all our naval brigade lay 
under orders. At 4 a.m., whilst yet the air was dusky, the 
garrison of Abrakrampa set out. No doubt at all remained 
that the Ashantees had fled, but, before leaving, I was 
anxious to behold the deserted camp. By the light of the 
earliest sunbeams, I descended the valley, so often cleared by 
our West Indians, and as often re-occupied by the enemy ; 
behind me, at starting, marched my servant and two armed 
bearers, Fantees; but one of these took an opportunity to 
slip back before we had traversed a hundred yards of jungle. 
It cannot be too firmly impressed on Englishmen that our 
native allies of the protectorate are mere beasts, cowardly to 
a degree incredible unless one had beheld them, slavish and 
greedy, and treacherous as, I hope, are no other natives of 
the world. We have seen now how cruel is Ashantec slavery, and 



THE DEAD CHIEFS. 



91 



the officers of this expedition are picked men, humane as 
well as brave; but one opinion only rules, that the worst fate 
they could incur is well deserved by the Fantees. 

On the brow of the hill, four or five hundred armed men hung 
around the heaps of worthless plunder, taken from Kossus 
and Houssas on their return from camp ; no words, nor even 
blows, could induce the Fantees to move from this safe 
position. I left them there eyeing the loot, which was 
guarded by half-a-dozen West Indians, and scattering up or 
down, as an officer, drenched with perspiration, made a rush 
to send them on. Just under the crest lay the jet-black 
chief we had brought down by the broadside I told of. 
One who had not seen it could not have believed that rifle 
balls would cut a man to pieces in, such fashion. He lay 
supine, with half-a-dozen holes right through him, but the 
most extraordinary wound was one in the leg, where, as I 
think, two balls had struck him in a line, cutting clean 
through flesh and bone, just like an axe. Eight feet from this 
lay the second chief, and another beyond. I went on into the 
wood, finding a body from time to time. About two 
hundred yards from the hill the camp appeared ; it seems 
that the Ashantees only used the village of Addismadi as a 
place of detention for their wretched prisoners. Several ot 
these we met, escorted by Kossus ; if starvation had left 
them any appearance of strength to run away, they were 
stapled by the left wrist to a heavy log, which obliged them 
to support that hand upon their shoulder, but did not 



- 9 2 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



incapacitate them from carrying weights upon the head, as is 
the African fashion. Most, however, were merely skin and 
bone, fearful objects of misery ; the women, if not young and 
good-looking, had no vestige of bosom, except a few wrinkles; 
the eyes of death looked out on us from fieshless brows, with 
scarcely even a beam of joy to be released. It seemed extra- 
ordinary, looking at the tottering gait, the lameness almost 
universal, and the limbs weaker than a child's, that their 
inhuman masters had not long since berid themselves of 
such encumbrances. Not that the masters captured showed 
much more flesh. As we walked along the broad path cut 
through the bush, my servant pointed out to me the baskets 
laden with unripe papaws, bananas, nuts, and all sorts of 
jungle fruit, and showed me how they had tried to cook the 
trash in various ways to make it eatable. I saw the marks of 
teeth and knives upon some of it : one might as well have 
tried to get subsistence from a peg-top. 

We shall probably know in a few days how many men 
really occupied this camp. Judging from some experience of 
savage manners, I cannot think the number much under 
fifteen thousand; I know that the General estimates the 
force opposed to him between Abrakrampa and Dunquah at 
twenty thousand fighting men, besides numerous women, 
children, and slaves. How many of them assembled for the 
action which, as we know now, was the last effort of despair, 
cannot yet be told ; but the village of Addismadi lies between 
<a mile and a quarter and two miles from Abrakrampa; I 



SIGHTS IN THE ABANDONED CAMP. 



myself, having walked it, consider the lowest estimate most 
correct. From a distance of two hundred yards at most 
in the bush, three hundred yards from the church, 
the brushwood had been cleared away on either side the 
road, as far as eye could see; the big trees and the shady 
branches had been left, and fires, still smoking, occupied the 
ground, one, at least, to each square yard. The Ashantees 
must have lain in scores upon the ground. Here and there, a 
lean-to roof of palm thatch had been built, probably for a 
chief; wherever one of these was found, the rubbishing 
treasures of barbarous life — the rags, the pots, guns, knives, 
calabashes, baskets, stools, brass pans, scales and weights for 
gold dust, skulls and bones of enemies murdered, beads, 
rattles, bags, ammunition boxes, — all the paraphernalia of 
savage ornament and war, — lay about in heaps. No doubt at 
all of the utter rout. About half way to Addismadi, just 
where the body of a wretched woman lay in the path, such 
things as these had been thrown down in quantities to make 
a flooring eighteen inches deep. Probably her fate, by some 
stray ball, had increased the scare to madness. A few armed 
natives at that place were turning over the rubbish, and 
appropriating what they thought valuable. I did not 
think it necessary to warn them that their plunder would be 
confiscated and burnt, but the prudence of our General in 
making this stringent order became more and more evident 
as I went on. Such an awful stench never man smelt; I 
know what foul odours grow when masses of black men get 



94 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



together too thickly, I know too the sickening smell of 
disease, but it had not been given me till yesterday to experi- 
ence the dreadful reek of an abandoned camp of negroes, 
suffering from nameless malady. Ugh ! the taste rises now. 
It was not the odour of putridity, though now and again a 
horrid whiff came from the bush, — it was the stench of mere 
starvation, leprosy, small-pox, and festering wounds, which 
caused me to retch all the back journey. 

At Addismadi I found an escaped slave telling his experi 
ences to a group of Kossus. Learning that he had left his 
masters only an hour or two before, I promptly took him in 
charge on the GeneraPs account, gave him some biscuits, and 
hastily turned back. It is said, however, that the camp of 
the Ashantees extends some distance on the other side of the 
village. From my miserable slave I learnt that the enemy had 
fled just about the time of our attack on Friday; they gave 
out, one cannot tell with how much truth, that a messenger 
from Coomassie had suddenly arrived at that moment, recalling 
them to Ashanti. I gathered also that Amanquattiah had 
been wounded on the first day of fighting, and had with- 
drawn, no one knew whither : his sedan chair has been 
captured, and also a bedstead, handsomely carved, which is 
believed to have been his property. We had heard before 
this that the Ashantee Generalissimo had cut his throat in 
despair. The chief command was then taken by Seycojo, 
described as son to King Koffee, but in reality his brother; 
this royal personage was killed on the second day, and his 



OUR CASUALTIES. 



95 



body was forthwith despatched home. The Ashantees, when 
the panic occurred, broke into two main bodies, one going 
due north, and one north-west. The order is, however, that 
every man get home as well as he can, but, if the Akims 
and Wassaws are not as cowardly as the Fantees, not a 
human being of the Abrakrampa army will reach the 
other side the Prah, unless the King send an army to 
rescue. So ends the first act in the tragi-comedy of this 
war. It is thought possible, even probable, that M ansu may 
be attacked by the retreating force, but all preparations 
to receive this desperate attempt have long been complete. 
I go thither on Wednesday to watch the episode. Our 
losses were ridiculously slight; on November 5, we had but 
one Houssa and one native chief, the latter badly wounded, 
who asked the doctor's aid ; on the 6th, a Houssa, a sailor, 
severely hit over the eye, three West-Indian soldiers, three 
Fantees, two of them bad cases, twelve of Russell's regiment, 
Captain Grant, two West-Indians slightly, and Lieutenant 
Wells, R.N., burnt in the hand by a rocket. Not a single 
death as yet, but it is suspected that many Fantees, from 
ignorance or prejudice, neglected to ask Dr. Atkins' aid. Of 
the Ashantee loss, little, as yet, is known; about twenty 
bodies had been found when I left, but the dead alone may 
well amount to ten times this number ; in such a flight, also, 
the wounded may almost be counted as dead men. 

Returning in great discomfort, with the gorge in my very 
mouth, I met the Houssas and Kossus hurrying out to pursue 



9 6 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



under command of Captain Bromhead, the two Gordons 
(98th and 93rd) , and Lieutenant Woodgate. Lieutenant 
Cochrane, R.N., who was coming back with me in search of 
troops — his own having vanished ! — turned with them. By 
this time there were scores of armed Fantees prying amongst 
the heaps of rubbish; with them, doubtless, would have 
been found Lieutenant Cochrane's deserters, but how to 
identify any individual amongst the crowd ? On the hill 
I paused awhile to observe the heaps of loot, which were now 
encircled by hundreds of loafing Fantees, who sneaked near 
and purloined any article lying apart. Presently, to the 
general astonishment, an order came to let the pile be 
ransacked. Greatly disgusted were the Houssas and Kossus 
at this announcement, and with reason. Everything heaped 
there had been taken by them, and it is to the credit of 
these excellent fellows that they made very little complaint 
when the "West Indians had deprived them of it the night 
before. But now the cowards who dared not gather it were 
to have all the benefit, for the Houssas and Kossus had gone 
on in pursuit of the foe. Let me here interpolate a remark r 
all the arrangements concerning loot throughout the war 
were as bad as possible. At Coomassie, after we all had 
been put upon honour not to appropriate anything, a prize 
committee was appointed at midnight and the palace sacked. 
Not more than a half-dozen officers heard of it till morning. 
I myself, strolling about the town with Lieutenant Saunders, 
R.A., during the day, had found a house where lay abundance 



THE LOOT. 



97 



of valuables, all of which were burnt. So with others, no 
doubt. Had reasonable notice been given, double the plunder 
might have been won in Coomassie. 

At Abrakrampa the loot was of little worth — at least, the 
loot we saw. It was rumoured that the Houssas and 
Kossus made the less complaint about losing their booty in 
pans and cloths, for fear of an investigation of their pockets. 
They knew where to look for gold, in the dirtiest corner of 
the oldest Ashantee rug 3 and, as is whispered, they did not 
look in vain. But I saw only one parcel of dust discovered, 
by a West Indian. It might have been worth a pound when 
shown to me, but as the worthy black went all about exhibiting 
it, I should guess there would be little left in very short time. 
Gold dust is not an article for careless handling ; it diminishes 
visibly. Amanquattiah's riding-chair and bedstead had some 
interest. The former was just an arm-chair, cane-bottomed, 
and fitted with a footboard, solidly dovetailed on a pole 
before and a pole behind. The several cross-bars necessary 
to hold it fast in such a trying position showed most excellent 
carpentry. In this machine two wretched slaves carried the 
burly general upon their heads, a weight, perhaps, of 100 
pounds apiece. The bedstead was more ornamental. It had 
head and footboards elaborately carved, and studded pro- 
fusely with brass nails j the skin of some striped deer formed 
the stretcher. These articles, with two or three of the finest 
drums, made trophies for the General. He departed at 7 
a.m., riding in a Madeira-chair upon the heads of four stout 



9 8 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



bearers. From this elevated position an excellent view would 
be obtained, if there was anything to see in this dreary forest 
excepting trees and trees, leaves, leaves, leaves, and now and 
then a flower. At 8 a.m. I followed from the scene of 
victory with Messrs. Elliott and Nugent of the Control. We 
took the road by 'Mprassoo and Battyan, rather a pretty walk. 
For there had been much clearing along this secluded path, 
and the Indian cane flourished in narrow fields of blossom. 
Nowhere in the country do I recollect so many flowers. But 
the eternal forest backed them at three yards distance even 
here. There is no refuge from the trees, no open space, nor 
clear glimpse of heaven, from the coast-line to an unknown 
point in the interior. Remember that always. In the whole 
of this war, not one of us beheld the horizon. And thus 
back to Cape Coast Castle. Every tiny village was crammed 
with troops bivouacking for breakfast. Verily this is the 
greatest time West Africa has had since the world began. 
Very pleasant was it to behold the gratitude of the women 
as we passed by. They bowed their heads to the ground, 
with waving of arms, and graceful flourishing of palm boughs, 
whilst eyes and teeth gleamed with delight. 

Nov. 10th. Late last night unpleasant news came from the 
camp. It appears that after we left, the Houssas and Kossus, 
led by Messrs. Gordon, of the 93rd and 98th, Captain Brom- 
head and Lieutenants Cochrane and Woodgate, were ordered 
to pursue. They came up with the Ashantees, about five miles 
from Abrakrampa, and a brisk engagement followed ; one 



THE GATLING GUN. 



99 



Houssa was killed, and several wounded, but the enemy could 
not be forced from his position. Major Russell) hearing the 
fire, ordered out the Cape Coast volunteers, about 1000 strong, 
to reinforce the Houssas ; with the greatest difficulty these 
cowardly rascals were driven into the bush, but, before they 
had gone five hundred yards, they began to fire madly on 
every side ; the returning Houssas and the advance guard of 
their own comrades came in for a storm of balls, which 
wrought great mischief, to what extent is not yet known 
here. No course is open to the General but a disarmament 
of these levies ; they are ordered in to Cape Coast to-day for 
that purpose, as is believed. For my own part, having seen 
Fantees at work, I am satisfied that, unless their arms be 
taken away, some grave disaster will only be averted by 
prompt measures. 

Nov. 12th. Another desperate excitement amongst the na- 
tives ! Another rush from all parts of the town, cloths flying 
loose, and a hurricane of dust. This time it is the Gatling gun 
which rouses the population. Once more the rumour has spread 
that " white man's fetish " is about to take up the war single- 
handed, dispensing with native assistance. Deceived by the 
" land-steamer," which now puff's unheeded at its peaceful 
task of sawing, the Fantees put an undiminished trust in the 
" pistol-gun." Following the crowd, I presently gain the 
sea-wall, where Captain Rait, R.A., is instructing a half- 
dozen Houssas in the management of the Gatling. Before 
I reach the spot, that peculiar grinding roll which we first 

h2 



ioa 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



heard in the Franco-German war resounds above the clamour. 
Every one knows what like is a Gatling gun. The Houssas, 
who, of course, saw only the beauties of the weapon, turned 
its handle in ecstasy ; their comrades screamed with delight 
to watch the splash — splash of the bullets, falling like hail 
into the sea, a thousand yards away. Captain Rait stood be- 
side and " served " the gun, but he already knew that this 
fetish must be almost as disappointing as the former. The 
Gatling is not fitted for rough work ; its terrible machinery 
is delicate as that of a watch, and no negro that ever lived 
could be trusted to work it. In point of fact, there were but 
two officers, Captain Rait and Lieutenant Saunders, R.A., 
and no privates, in the expedition, who understood the nice 
adjustment of the u drum," and they understood so tho- 
roughly as to declare it quite useless for the sort of business 
before us. A tiny fraction of error in fixing the " drum " 
disables the piece, and it will bear no ill-usage or accident ; 
in fact, one of our Gatlings refused to "traverse" by the 
time it was got to Dunquah, and the second, though brought 
up in good order, was prudently left behind to guard our tete 
du pont at Prahsu. Sorrowfully the Fantees learnt that no 
fetish at our disposal would enable us to dispense with their 
aid. 

Nov. 13th. There is considerable . agitation in our quiet 
dwelling. Mr. Selby was robbed of a cash-box containing £b0 
in gold last night. Grievous suspicion rests upon the " boy " 
whose business it is to sweep out the office. The reader doubt- 



FETISH TRIALS. 



101 



less supposes that in such a case the police would be called in, 
search warrants issued, and formal proceedings taken ; for does 
not Cape Coast Castle boast judge and barristers, and law books 
and briefs and juries ? Of course it does, like any other town 
of Africa, where we have conscientiously established English 
forms amongst a people which neither loves, fears, or under- 
stands them. But not to their powers will the wise man trust 
in his need, though he have no choice but to pay heavy taxes 
for their maintenance. To them may the fool or the stranger 
appeal, but a resident knows better. From puzzled judge, 
hard bound by rule and precedent consciously to do injustice ; 
from lawyer, semi-savage, quoting words of which he knows 
no meaning, and formulae twisted to dishonesty ; from jury 
which understands not its own duties, nor dreams of wrong- 
doing when it gives false verdict for bribes or personal feeling ; 
— from these the merchant of Cape Coast expects no 
help. There is another institution in the land which exacts 
what justice is found there — an institution dreaded, approved, 
and understood by all — the fetish. To it Mr. Selby applied, 
not without the English judge's cognizance. He sent to the 
chief under whose name the culprit professed to live, and the 
chief sent down two men who carried him away. Whither, 
and for what ? No one knows who will tell. It is only cer- 
tain that death never ensues, nor is physical torture the 
means employed to reach the truth. Solitude and silence, 
dread miseries to the Eantee, are thought to be chief adjuncts 
in extracting confession, and to these may be added cunning 



102 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



decoctions mixed with the food and drink. A thinner and a 
sadder man the culprit returns from his trial if pronounced 
innocent^ but he tells no tale to reach the white man's ear. 
In Mr. Selby's case, the man so far confessed as to admit 
having seen the cash-box, and to tell where it would be found, 
but he persisted in declaring that it was already rifled when 
he picked it up in the garden or waste land behind the house. 
Fetish, shorn of its powers by English law, could drag him 
no further on the path of truth. 

My place of observation in the verandah gave me a new 
spectacle to-day. Mrs. Barnes, a wealthy old lady of the 
town, has taken council with her peers, and has drawn up a 
stirring appeal to the women, urging them to turn out in their 
thousands at this crisis. The manner of circulating this 
invitation was by means of a crier. Every leading chief has 
an official of this sort attached to his suite. He is a personage 
of no small importance, selected on account of a powerful 
voice and an imposing delivery. In Ashantee, the king's 
criers, of whom he possesses a number, are distinguished by a 
plaque of gold, worn on the breast. Their persons are sacred, 
as representatives of the king in Ashantee, and as ambassadors 
abroad. The same honour attaches to them with the more 
distant tribes of the protectorate, but here, in Cape Coast 
Castle, this useful office has fallen into disrespect with other 
forms and prerogatives of royalty. The necessary result of 
our introduction of English practice has been the extinction of 
native authority. The chiefs of Cape Coast hold their nominal 



SECRET POWER OF THE CHIEFS. 103 

power by very doubtful titles ; nor would it endure for a day, 
though shorn to its present limits, did not the holders exercise 
a secret and unavowable authority more hateful to the spirit 
of our law than any subordinate jurisdiction. Of this terreur 
blanche I have just shown one example in the continued use 
of fetish trials, necessarily permitted by our officials. Is not 
this the most complete confession how hopeless is the task to 
govern negroes by English law? But the Cape Coast chiefs 
have more terrible and more secret ways of sustaining their 
personal influence. They possess money, daring, and cold 
resolution, which attributes, if uncontrolled by conscience, 
will always make men powerful in spite of laws. He who 
offends the chief, as is alleged, will not long pursue his course 
of rebellion with impunity. In due time suspicions of crime 
form against him, a charge is brought, supported by conclusive 
evidence, and the judge himself innocently fulfils the chiefs 
revenge by sentencing the accused to pay the penalty. To 
this pass, as I am told, have our civilised innovations brought 
the public moralty of the coast. It is even hinted that in cases 
where the chief has been more seriously offended, a quicker, 
less troublesome, and deadlier means is used to obtain revenge. 
Your negro, in all parts of the continent, is an herbalist of no 
mean skill. His medicines are trusted to some degree by all 
who have had opportunity to witness their results. And his 
poisons are yet more numerous. It may be urged that our 
reforms have not gone far enough, that this dreadful abuse 
will be checked as civilisation progresses. But we can scarcely 



104 AN ABANDONED CAMP. 

hope to lift the African above the level he has reached in 
Sierra Leone — on his own continent, that is — and what man- 
ner of public morality rules at that colony, let him who knows 
it tell. I repeat common beliefs and sayings when I declare that 
Cape Coast might learn such lessons as would shock its chiefs 
from their fellows in Sierra Leone. If these stories be false, 
it would be more than well that they should receive authorita- 
tive contradiction from disinterested persons, not missionaries, 
nor black pets, but those who have experience to know, in- 
telligence to perceive, and courage to speak truth. Tf they be 
true, let England review the work she has done, and the price 
she has paid for the institution of these horrible customs. 

I have wandered from Mrs. Barnes and her spirited pro- 
clamation. We first heard of it by the shrill clamour of 
voices, louder than usual, in the street below. A crowd of 
children ran screaming past, the boys quite naked, the girls 
in equal innocence, or protected by an inch- wide bandage. 
Then the dull clatter of a native bell caused silence, and at 
the corner of the street a tall and ragged ruffian took his 
stand amongst the elder members of the cortege. For awhile 
he rattled his ball of wood between two rusty clappers, and 
then pronounced the words entrusted to him in a voice very 
high and musical. It enjoined on all patriotic women to as- 
semble next day at the Castle, and undertake a load for the 
army. They should receive a shilling wages, and threepence 
for " subsistence." When the ceremony was completed, the 
children burst again into their clamour, and " rushed " the 



THE GARRISON OF MANS U. 



street before the messenger, who proceeded to his duty at 
another open space. The proclamation, I fear, was something 
very near a failure. Not that the women did not turn up duly j 
the mistake lay, I believe, in divided jurisdiction. 

Nov. 12th. The Ashantees are still retreating in the greatest 
haste; their advanced guard has shown itself parallel with 
Mansu, but has made no attempt to use our road ; in fact, the 
fugitives, true to their extraordinary custom of non-interfe- 
rence with our operations, are cutting a road of their own 
direct to the Prah ; but they have sent to Chamah, and other 
places within our observation, for powder, which will 
certainly not reach them in any sufficient quantity. The 
garrison of Mansu is delighted, for the native part, and 
sincerely regrets, for the English part, that an attack has 
become very improbable. The result was not to be feared in 
any case ; Colonel Webber, commanding that post, has about 
five hundred men to defend it, viz., — fifteen whites, fifty of 
the 2nd West-Indian regiment, reinforced long before this 
by eighty more, a hundred and six Cape Coast volunteers of 
that superior class which dresses in blue and scarlet, and is 
composed of Mulatto clerks and storekeepers, with two 
hundred men from Denkera, who will perhaps fight. The 
position is a camp merely, not a defended town, as at Abra- 
krampa; the garrison is at present occupied, pending the 
improbable attack of the Ashantees, with the operation of 
bridging the Ochee, which runs about fifty yards broad at 
this point ; pontoons are already on their way. Until this 



io6 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



bridge is finished, the road- cutting cannot safely be carried 
further. 

For the last day or two, we have been amused and in- 
terested by the visit of three hundred Wassaws, who dwell to 
the westward, along the flank of the Ashantee retreat. 
Captain Thompson, of the Queen's Bays, has had great 
success in stirring the warlike ardour of this tribe, and the 
deputation which left to-day breathes nothing but flames 
and bullets against the invader ; they have come in, headed 
by their king and heir-apparent, to procure powder and balls 
for the purpose of harassing his retreat. I have related 
before how our Kossus danced and sang, and played 
fantastic tricks, when they found themselves near the 
enemy , so will spare the account of Wassaw vagaries ; 
suffice it that the tum-tum to which they danced was 
adorned with Ashantee skulls, and that a pole, borne in 
their midst, displayed a trophy of jawbones, once belong- 
ing to Ashantee chiefs. The war song had a peculiarity 
in the chorus of mingled sound, between a sneeze and 
a cough, which followed each versicle. These Wassaws are 
the men who deserted Sir Charles Macarthy in his hour of 
need, but all who are acquainted with them declare that no 
evil augury should be drawn from this; the panics of a 
savage army are as mysterious as their likings, and it is 
beyond doubt that the Wassaws during this last invasion 
have not only kept the Ashantee out of their country by 
hard fighting, but have even resisted his bribes. At an early 



UNWILLINGNESS OF FANTEES TO HELP. 107 



date of the war, King Koffee sent them an embassy, with 
thirty pounds weight of gold dust, to solicit an alliance ; the 
Wassaws killed his ambassadors, pocketed his gold, and 
manned their frontier. Nor have the Ashantees obtained 
one .scintilla of satisfaction for this unkind proceeding; the 
force they sent to invade Wassaw was driven back, with the 
loss of seventy men, whose heads and jawbones have lately 
been paraded about our town. The detachment of our visitors 
left here this evening, bearing heavy loads of powder and 
lead. By the bye, I am informed by an officer, who ought to 
know, that the supply of ammunition appointed for this war 
is as great as the whole amount consumed in the Crimea, — 
such a difference does breech-loading make. Of this quan- 
tity, one million, seven hundred and sixty-six thousand 
cartridges have been given to the natives at this date of 
writing. 

The Cape Coast volunteers, who behaved so abominably at 
Abrakrampa, have, many of them, deserted back to town. 
The chief himself coolly sent a letter to head-quarters, stat- 
ing that his return might be expected yesterday. Major 
Baker wrote him back a few strong words, to the effect that 
if he dared show his face, he would be treated like any other 
soldier who had deserted before the enemy. In consequence, 
the hero retired to Napoleon, about seven miles away. 
Forty-four of his worthless scoundrels have been recognised by 
the police, arrested, disarmed, and sent up under escort to 
Mansu as transport bearers. 



io8 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



Not in all the world, as I fervently belie ve, are there such 
cowardly animals to be found as the Cape Coast Fantees. 
The sense of personal dignity, of manhood, is utterly wanting 
with them. They are fit to be slaves, and fit for nothing else. 
I could disgust the reader by the hour with tales of their 
every- day cowardice, greed, and insolence. We are told that 
Sir Garnet Wolseley has received stringent injunctions not to 
proclaim martial law in Cape Coast Castle. If it be so, and 
if he dare not take on himself to violate the prohibition, 
I venture to predict that we shall never reach Coomassie. 
Nothing but martial law, swift and strong, will make these 
natives take upon themselves the mere semblance of manly 
virtue. Fight they will not, though certain death were the 
penalty of the refusal ; work they may, perhaps, if a whip be 
behind them. Not less than two hundred deserters, as is 
believed, have fled to Anamaboo, hearing that their comrades 
had been punished by being set to work. There they will 
live just as comfortably as at home, and no step will the 
rascals take to help their defenders in this great difficulty 
before them. Our transport officers will want not less than 
ten thousand men to carry the needful supplies for an 
advance. With incredible pains and trouble they can now 
get five hundred. Where are the others to come from? 
Every house in Cape Coast, every open space, swarms with 
lusty negroes, but not a man to work, even at the heavy pay 
offered by government. Our business cannot be done for 
want of transport. It may safely be declared that the designs 



SECRETS OF CAPE COAST TRADE. 



109 



of the general would be absolutely stopped at this moment if 
it were not for the women-bearers. What work is done they 
do, with industry, temper, and comparative good will. But 
women, from the nature of things, are not to be wholly 
depended on. The men must be compelled to do their share ; 
and I repeat that the sternest compulsion will be needed. 

Since returning here I have been diligently inquiring from 
all who have means of knowledge, the causes, objects, aud 
probable results of this war. Some very curious facts, quite 
inconsistent with the general beliefs at home, have been 
discovered. I can no longer doubt that the professed desire of 
the Ashantee king to get a foothold on the coast, and so 
to secure direct trade, is simply a mocking pretext. With his 
tongue in his cheek he put forth that ridiculous explanation. 
As we understood it, in all good faith, the king complained 
that the Fantees of the coast acted as middlemen, refusing 
the Ashantees personal communication with the white 
traders. No proposition could be more inconsistent with the 
facts. The only middle man in the commerce of this coast is 
King Koffee himself, and he does the agency with a vengeance. 
The whole interior trade from the outer confines of his 
dominion, as far as that unknown point where the absorbing 
capacity of the East Coast merchants begins to be felt, passes 
through his hands. The modus operandi is this: The 
arrival of an inland trader is signalled from the first village 
where he touches Ashantee ground ; straightway messengers 
are sent from Coomassie to escort the stranger, and to see 



no 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



that he does no business on the way; he reaches the king 
with bales unpacked ; the king receives the whole, gives the 
trader a receipt, and sends half-a-dozen servants, trained to 
the business, into Cape Coast, with the inventory of the 
goods detained. They go to work singly, entering every 
store, and ascertaining the current price both of the ivory 
they have to sell and the merchandise the king proposes giving 
them in return. Having gathered all the necessary infor- 
mation they hasten back to Coomassie, and confidentially 
instruct the king, who promptly values the ivory and cloths 
of his " guest " at 50 per cent, of the current price just 
reported to him. He also informs that wretched man what 
goods he proposes to give him in return, valuing each article 
at twice the price of Cape Coast Castle. The trader has 
no choice but to accept. The messengers come down again, 
as ragged as before, but heavy with gold dust. They fulfil 
the king's order, doing a small cheat on their own account if 
possible. The trader is sent away mulcted just 75 per cent, 
of his legitimate profit. Perhaps at this price he makes a 
good thing of it, but beyond a doubt King Koffee clears 
75 per cent. 

The Fantees would as soon dare stop an English man-of-war 
as a single Ashantee merchant. In the territory beyond our 
protectorate the hereditary foe will sometimes get illtreated, 
or so the king declares when he wants a pretext for war • but 
no one thinks of entering on the agency business. In point 
of fact, the trade of the Gold Coast is Ashantee trade. 



AMBITION OF KING KOFFEE. 



Besides the king's large enterprises which I have described, 
all his subjects are shrewd pedlars. The Fantees and their 
allied tribes produce nothing but palm oil and monkey skins. 
They have rich gold diggings, but they scarcely work them. 
They have silver, and iron, and copper ores, gums, nuts, 
timber, and, no doubt, india-rubber — but nothing of these 
is seen. The trade, excepting palm oil and monkeys, is 
entirely Ashantee, carried on by themselves without inter- 
ference from any hand. What then becomes of the want of 
direct communication with the whites? That Koffee desires 
to get a footing on the coast is, doubtless, true, but not for 
purposes of commerce. He wants to extend his dominion, 
and nothing else. The Ashantees proper are not a numerous 
race. Probably two thirds of the invading force we have just 
driven back was composed of tributary allies. The king, 
however, is perpetually conquering and increasing his do- 
minion. This is done as much by intrigue and treachery as 
by force. He has established himself as umpire in all disputes 
of the tribes adjoining, which are not singly a match for one 
of his great caboceers. By lies and misrepresentations, or by 
methods even less scrupulous, he keeps them in continual 
broils with one another, the end of which is always subjection 
of both parties. I have inquired as to the probability of 
internal rebellion, in case we should prick the balloon of 
Ashantee power. Opinions here are not favourable to any 
such result, though some of the independent chiefs might be 
expected to rise. It seems that the king is regarded with 



112 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



a veneration and awe incredible. At his horrid " customs " a 
considerable proportion of the killed are voluntary sacrifices. 
It is not to be supposed that slaves alone suffer at the grander 
ceremonials. The Ashantees, even the chiefs, are massacred 
indiscriminately, and no man complains. 

In regard to the results of the war, no disagreement pre- 
vails. Heedless of proposals for peace, the army must push 
through to the capital, and must hold it long enough to 
let the most distant tribes of the monarchy perceive that they 
are conquered. The reader may exclaim that he has heard 
such warlike counsels in New Zealand and elsewhere, the 
meaning of which was that plenty of money was circulating 
and residents were making a fine thing of it. No such 
unscrupulous reasoning can be charged to the Cape Coast 
merchants. This war is ruining them. I have said that the 
trade is Ashantee, our cottons and manufactures against their 
gold dust and cloths. This exchange being stopped, commerce 
is at a standstill. Nor do the troops bring any profit. But 
one contract is out, a risky one, to supply beef to the army. 
Even this must be carried out in Sierra Leone, for the natives 
here have no cattle, nor show the slightest intention of raising 
them. Our other stores come from England. Not even 
drink is sold to any extent. And when the white soldiers 
arrive they will literally march from the sea-beach inland, 
remaining not an hour in Cape Coast Castle. It must be 
admitted, therefore, that the opinion in favour of war a 
outrance is disinterested, and even opposed to the interests of 



ASHANTEE POWER. 



113 



those who hold it. They declare that unless Coomassie be 
occupied the king will find means to deceive his distant 
vassals, will keep his power unimpaired, or will shortly regain 
it, and within ten years a new invasion, on a larger scale and 
better equipped for the work, will again cause havoc and 
dread up to the castle gates. The power of the Ashantees 
at present may easily be exaggerated ; their wealth in gold 
dust has scarcely bounds. We know too well that every 
invention of war lies open to the purchase of any savage 
wealthy enough to buy it. Already at Abrakrampa we have 
heard breechloading rifles pinging in the forest, and a quantity 
of empty cartridges were found in the abandoned camp, 
mostly of Dutch manufacture, It is only a question of time, 
when ample means of purchase are forthcoming, to arm the 
savages of Ashantee with every modern weapon. From the 
tenure of their empire, from stern necessity as well as 
inclination, the monarchs of Coomassie will be invaders and 
quarrellers as long as they exist. On no other conditions will 
their power hold together. Break up the Ashantee prestige, 
and the empire built by so many clever savages, by such 
deeds of blood and daring, will tumble to pieces like a house 
of cards. Already the wars and massacres of a hundred and 
fifty years have reduced the true Ashantees to a small pro- 
portion of the fighting force. King Koffee, as I have said, 
is reduced to intrigue and trick where his grandfather would 
have shown the bloody hand. Make one bold thrust, say the 
Cape Coast residents, and the hideous giant will fall supine. 



ii4 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



Withdraw your hand, and the fates are not more certain than 
is a cruel vengeance. 

Sir Garnet Wolseley has been ill, and is yet confined to the 
( Simoom/ hospital ship. We are told that his complaint 
has not been strictly fever, but "el touch of the sun," in- 
curred on the long march from Abrakrampa. I have stated 
that his Excellency travels perched upon a chair carried 
on bearers' heads. Such a situation must, of course, be 
trying in this climate. To-night, however, the bulletin is 
very favourable. The news of the governor's illness has 
stirred a painful anxiety even amongst the natives. Since 
the days of Colonel Maclean — the man who is abhorred by 
all sentimentalists as the bluebeard husband of L. E. L., 
but revered in memory of all folks here as the best adminis- 
tratror ever this coast saw — no governor has established 
his reputation so quickly, so pleasantly, and so firmly. The 
most despondent of any good thing to come from hence 
is shamed and cheered by the General's quick speech and 
ready laugh, whilst the evil minded, of whom we have abun- 
dance, can plead no mistake as to his meaning. Abuses and 
disorders have vanished almost at sight of him. The right 
man for this post is Sir Garnet Wolseley ; and every 
badgered transport officer, every merchant, and every right- 
feeling native prays with special cause for his speedy re- 
covery. 

Nov. 16th. Sir Garnet appears to be slowly improving, but 
he is not expected ashore for at least a week under the best 



RAZZIA AMONGST THE NEGROES. 115 

circumstances. The Hon. Mr. Charteris has also been 
obliged to take himself to the ' Simoom. ' Capt. Bracken- 
bury had a sharp but brief attack of fever two days since ; 
as I hear, he backed himself against a despondent doctor to 
appear next day at mess, and would have won his wager had 
it been taken. I do not think we have much to complain of 
just at present in the matter of sickness. The following 
proclamation was published at daybreak yesterday, and 
simultaneously the police paraded every street, and seized 
each man that showed himself : — 

Judicial Assessor's Court, held in the Beulah Camp, Nov. 14, 1873. 

By the laws and customs of this land every person ought to assist in the 
defence of his country against its enemies, and if he does not do so willingly, 
he ought to be compelled to do so. We, therefore, the Judicial Assessor 
and Chiefs of Cape Coast, in a special court held in the Camp at Beulah, do 
issue the following orders : 

1st. Every able-bodied man not already engaged in the service of his 
country is immediately to present himself for that service. 

2nd. Every able-bodied man refusing to do so, without proper excuse, is to 
be arrested and compelled to work without pay. 

3rd. Any person engaged in the service of his country who shall be proved 
guilty of disobedience or insubordination, is to be subject to the punishment 
of flogging. 

(Signed) James Makshall, Judicial Assessor. 
Chief Quasie Attah, his + mark. 
„ Coffee Amooah „ „ 
„ Coffee Yammie „ „ 
„ Coffee Sacket „ „ 
„ cxjdjoe asal „ „ 
„ Ekmo „ „ 

1 2 



n6 AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



And at their own request signed by 



Captain 


Qtjow Aekoon 


his + mark. No. 1 




Qtjasie Etsin 




J) 


No. i. 


JJ 


QTJOW ASSIMAH 






No. 2. 


)9 


Ctjdjoe Eeoom 




)) 


No. 2. 


» 


COPPEE MoOASTJ 






No. 3. 


>» 


Ctjdjoe Tompoltj 






No. 3. 


JJ 


QtJAMINA AMINAH 






No. 4. 


JJ 


QUOW KOOTAH 






No. 4. 


J) 


Qtjasie Amaeahiah 


jj 


J> 


No. 5. 


» 


Quow Esieah 






No. 5. 


5> 


f^TT"n TAT 1 A 1?T? T AT 


jj 


n 


No. 6. 


n 


QTJAMINA SACKET 


n 


jj 


No. 6. 


jj 


QTJAMINA KAECOOM 


JJ 


jj 


No. 7. 


jj 


Ctjdjoe Akin 


JJ 


j» 


No. 7. 


jj 


QuABINA QUAH AGIL 


JJ 


j» 


No. 9. 


jj 


Qtjacoe Saneah 


JJ 


jj 


No. 9. 



We agree to the above : 

Chief James Eobeet Thompson. 
Chief John Mayan, his + mark. 
Court House, Cape Coast, Nov. 14, 1873. 

The razzia is still going on. About three hundred were 
caught yesterday, of all classes, for good clothes don't save a 
man at this crisis. Of these, two thirds failed to show that thev 
were employed on works of public benefit, and forthwith the 
police marched them off to Mansu with a load upon their heads. 
But I must give the women of Cape Coast credit for first 
helping government. The wives and mothers of the town 
held a second meeting four days ago, in the house of Mrs. 
Barnes, the wealthy old lady who has thrice seen the Ashantees 



INCIDENTS OF THE FRAY. 



117 



at the castle gate, and there drew up a form of adjuration to 
the younger of their own sex. The town crier repeated it at 
every street corner the same night amidst great excitement. 
And in the morning there was a vast muster of women at the 
castle. It is easy now to understand why the King of 
Dahomey makes his female subjects his soldiers. I am 
satisfied that these sturdy women of Cape Coast would fight, 
as they will work. 

But a levee en masse is not conducted without some annoy- 
ance and some error, as those well recollect who, like myself, 
had the misery to serve in France during Monsieur Gam- 
betta's reign. To French officials first was given that most 
excellent warning " surtout pas de zele," but never was it 
more needed than by the Fantee policemen. They treated 
Cape Coast Castle as a conquered town, harbouring suspicious 
characters. No place was sacred to them, neither the bed- 
chamber, the dining-room, nor that recess which should be 
the penetralia of a mansion, the cook-house. Mr. Selby, 
taking an early stroll through his private castle, found my 
new cook engaged in hand-to-hand struggle with police upon 
the stairs; like Joseph, he escaped without his garment. 
This group routed, Selby undertook his morning avocations, 
only to be recalled in half an hour by new altercations : my 
cook again ! again upon the stairs ! escaping a second time 
without a second garment ! Coming up for coffee, about 
7 a.m., Selby once more detected an invasion of his castle. 
Behold a big buck policeman pacing up and down his dining- 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



room, like r a sentry on the watch ! I, meanwhile, the cause 
of these^innovations, peacefully writing in my sacred place 
above. Would I had been called upon ! Would I had 
beheld the capture of my new cook ! Would I had heard 
the appeals and protestations by which he obtained Selby's 
interference ! Would I have listened ? Never ! I would 
have cried, "Take him, mister policeman, and may he do 
you more good than he has done me harm, if that be possible ! 
Take him and work him hard, with or without a garment ! " 
This cook I subsequently yielded to the entreaties of the 
staff. It is not for me to say, but — there was some work 
for the medicos amongst that estimable body shortly after- 
wards. Enfin, I never saw him more, and justice may have 
been satisfied. 

Some valuable items of news come to hand from Capt. 
Glover's expedition. Mr. Cleland has been sent ahead to 
Pram-Pram to meet the kings of Accra, and to lead down 
their contingents to Addah. The king of Usher town arrived 
on the 14th, Soloman of Jamestown the next day, and the 
other chiefs are on the road. The people of Pram -Pram 
itself, however, are dissatisfied, because they have not been 
supplied with guns, etc., before setting out. It is not sure 
they will move. Capt. Glover and his officers are reported 
to have gone to Ammadekah on their way to Ahwoonah. 
The people of that country, allies of the Ashantees, are 
expected to make a desperate stand. The Aquamoos, how- 
ever, have sent in an application to make an active alliance 



STUPOR OF SLEEP IN NEGRO CHILDREN, ug 



with us. This is great news ; and if it be true, as I cannot 
doubt, the resistance of the Ahwoonahs must soon be van- 
quished, and Capt. Glover will have his rear entirely cleared 
of enemies in advancing towards Ashantee. 

Nov. 17 th, I had proposed to start for the front at 4.30 
in the morning • my hammock-men and bearers punctually 
turned up at 6.35. Punctually do I say, under advice, for 
with the experience lately gained, it seems to me creditable that 
they came so near the appointed hour. Last night, I chanced 
to linger when Mr. Selby's clerk, Mr. Gould, attempted to get 
the house shut up on going to bed. The like of that spectacle 
I never expect to behold. The boys to whose duty it fell to 
close the jalousies and lock the doors, slept on mats around 
the staircase. Gould — he is dead now, poor fellow ! dead 
within five months of his landing in the country ! — Gould 
said to me, " I'll show you something which you wouldn't 
believe on hearsay ! " Thereon he grasped a boy by the 
heels, dragged him a yard or so, turned him over, and 
roughly lifted him to a sitting posture ; the youth sat up, 
rubbed his eyes, scratched his head, and went to sleep again 
as he lay. To another he did the same, with a like result. 
Having thus got the two alongside, fast asleep, he dragged one 
on top of the other, and left them a moment; they slumbered 
placidly in that position. He then ran a-muck at them, 
being in slippers, and upset the pair, shouting loudly to 
close the shutters. They both got up, eyes wide open, and 
apparently conscious; one walked gravely downstairs, the 



120 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



other retired, with all semblance of reason, to the pantry 
alongside. The one who went down, came np again in two 
minutes, still with his eyes wide open, and leisurely lay 
down to sleep again ; the other we found fast snoring in the 
pantry, on a stool. We took them up, and shook them 
violently ; they rubbed themselves, and went to sleep again. 
Dragging them into the dining-room, without a word, they 
silently set about their work, fastening shutters and doors. 
™ Do you think they are awake ? " asked Gould. " Tell 
them to get you something." I did so. No response. I 
repeated the order. They quietly went back, their work com- 
pleted, and dropped asleep upon their mats. Fast, stupefied, 
all the time ! Never have I, never I suppose has any man 
except the traveller on this coast, seen such a thing ! It is 
one of the few amusements of West Africa, to show the 
stranger how a Fantee boy can sleep. But sleep it is not, — 
rather a cessation of intelligent existence. No animal sleeps 
in the same manner. I know my description does feeble 
justice to the subject, but that night's experience made me 
regard with charity any after slowness of my men in turning 
out. 

I should think that all readers understand how, in this 
war with Ashantee, we are bound by the sternest natural laws 
on every side. Modern campaigning has become almost 
independent of seasons, but here each day must be counted. 
By the middle of March, at latest, every white soldier ought 
to leave the coast ; not before the middle of December can 



ASSEYBOO. 



121 



they or ought they to arrive. Sir Garnet Wolseley, by happy 
disposition s, attacking perpetually here, there awaiting assault 
with indefatigable patience, has apparently succeeded in clear- 
ing out the invaders of our territory. Although the " touch " 
of the retreating Ashantees was lost within a few miles of 
Abrakrampa, the camps and villages full of dead, the starving 
prisoners, and the plunder, seen by a scouting party of the 
2nd W. I. under command of Lieutenants Maxwell and Bully, 
E.N., on the loth instant, sufficiently show that the rout is 
complete. Active operations may be said to have ceased for a 
spell of three weeks, but the most harassing work of this 
extraordinary expedition only proceeds with the greater 
ardour. Now is the time to observe how camps are formed 
in a dense jungle, how roads can be cut in the face of a savage 
enemy, how depots are made, — how, in short, it is possible to 
thrust back invisible invaders, and carry the war in turn 
through an impracticable country. With the object of learn- 
ing such matters I set out this morning in my perambulator 
for a careful survey of our outposts. The first of these, though 
the last to be fortified, is Asseyboo, to which I have briefly 
referred in my journey to Abrakrampa. This tiny village 
stands on the top of a hill, which was once famous for its 
plantations of banana. When I passed through, a fortnight 
since, the Ashantees were lying but five miles away ; never- 
theless, this graceful orchard stood untouched. The mud huts 
of Asseyboo were closely environed by a circlet of the most 
brilliant and the silkiest verdure, over which here and there, 



122 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



towered the cotton trees, grey and gigantic. Now, for a 
hundred yards around, the bananas are lopped down, and 
their dead stalks and leaves lie brown upon the grass. But 
so rapid here is vegetable growth, especially of the musce 
family, that slender shoots of two feet high are already rising 
from stems cut down but a fortnight since. Asseyboo lies 
about two miles from Cape Coast, half way to the great camp 
of Dunquah. For the last month, convoys of ammunition 
and stores have been passing daily through it to the front. 
Until ten days ago, the Ashantees were lying in considerable 
force within five miles, suffering severely from want of food. 
No opposition was to be seriously feared by them in swooping 
down on the village, whilst the plunder would have been in- 
valuable. Yet they lay quiet until Captain Buckle, H.E., 
relieved from anxiety about the fortification of Abrakrampa, 
found time to strengthen this fort also by a stockade and 
trench. From the day of Anianquattiah's defeat, Asseyboo 
has been a busy place. With that event, Mansu, far to the 
northward, became a post of primary importance, to be garri- 
soned and provisioned with the utmost speed : hence the 
pressing of labourers at Cape Coast, to which I alluded in the 
last chapter. Within an hour of their arrest by the police, 
every man who could not show good cause to the contrary, 
was charged with a load of rice, or beef, or ammunition, and 
sent on. Gay youDg gentlemen who had apparently looked 
upon the war for their defence as merely an amusement 
devised to please them, found themselves suddenly interested 



MR. BAKER AND THE SUPPLIES. 



123 



to the extent of fifty pounds weight. Loud was the outcry, 
and profuse the weeping ; but as all these youths had 
enjoyed for months past an alternative choice of fight or work, 
and had selected neither, their own countrymen did not pity 
them. The women came forward manfully, as usual. At 
the earnest request of Government, those ladies who possess 
influence in town held a meeting of native women, when, as I 
hear, stirring addresses were delivered. In the result, another 
crier was sent round to stir the patriotism of Cape Coast 
housewives. And well did they answer the appeal. 

Asseyboo as a post is to be abandoned in two days time. 
The Ashantees are far away northward, and the garrison of 
marines and bluejackets has returned to shipboard. T found 
indeed a detachment there, but they were only resting for the 
night, after a march from Dunquah. The village was full to 
cramming of carriers passing north or south, or depositing 
their loads with Mr. Commissary Baker. If that active gentle- 
man could ever be reduced to despair by astonishment and 
confusion, he would have been speechless that day. Although 
his orders to ( ' clear out 33 on Wednesday were too stringent 
to admit of doubt, stores kept coming in to his address at a 
rate to demand twenty times the bearers he could hope to 
raise. Pour tons and a half of rice alone did that unfortunate 
man receive betwixt daylight and darkness, besides beef and 
pork ! With the last convoy came an explanation. Bearers 
to forward it were to come back from Akroful, the next 
station. Then relieved in mind, though with direful fore- 



124 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



bodings, Mr. Baker retired to bed, as cheerfully as might be. 
The stores had overflowed his little den, and stood piled up 
in the street without. I made a bed of rice boxes, and lay on 
the top. Lieutenant Cochrane, R.N., whom I had last seen 
in the abandoned Ashantee camp, stretched his mattrass and 
blankets on the floor, and we sought forgetfulness of bile and 
headache and sun-fever, in sleep. Need I say the night was 
black as velvet, that the ragged gaps called windows seemed 
hung with a funeral pall, that the Asseyboo hyena, a well- 
known beast, screamed himself hoarse in the clearing, and 
that the cicalas sang like charity children? Surely a hint 
will do. About 10 p.m., our bilious slumbers were disturbed 
by a soft rustle, which grew and grew as one listened, louder 
and louder, shriller and quicker, until the rustle became a 
roar, and the deluge burst in upon us. " Oh then and there 
was hurrying to and fro," with a vengeance. From point to 
point I dragged my bed, wading the swamp which once had 
been our floor. In vain ! Mr. Baker and Mr. Cochrane had 
selected the only spots that made attempts to keep the water 
out, and there beneath umbrellas they drowsily bemoaned our 
common fate. Suddenly great commotion in the corner; 
Mr. Cochrane is chevying a toad which has leisurely traversed 
his face. The toad is found and pitched through the window. 
Exclamation on the part of Mr. Baker ; a lizard has fallen on 
his feet. All the foul beasts inhabiting our cracked walls, are 
abroad, seeking day quarters. We begin to discourse of 
centipedes and scorpions. I graphically describe that fearfu 



PLEASURES OF A BIVOUAC. 



creature, surely the most horrible of created things, the 
West African tarantula. General shudders, and sudden 
wakefulness. I catch a centipede, approaching my bed with 
undulating wriggle. Eruption of a marine officer, flooded 
out, come to seek comfort in companionship. The unfortu- 
nate sailors are reported to be sitting, stark, upon their clothes, 
with waterproof sheets wrapped round them. Oh, it was a 
night to recall those pleasant prophecies we heard in England 
from stay-at-home gentlemen, who declared the Ashantee 
campaign to be " a pic-nic." Again and again the flood came 
down, after a break. The thunder shook our walls, and the 

lightning ! I want an epithet for the lightning, but no 

one could supply me who had not visited West Africa. 

At Asseyboo there is. of course, no news. My servants 
report to me that a girl has been captured by Ashantees 
close by Mansu, and that they lie in great force there. Re- 
port disbelieved. The occupation of Lieut. Cochrane and 
Grey at this port, now unimportant, lies in preventing carriers' 
escape, and in sentencing those of them who make the at- 
tempt. Were not the village stockaded, it would be hopeless 
to expect the arrival of one half at their destination. The 
wretches for whom England has made such a sacrifice of 
treasure, and of lives more valuable than a thousand Eantees, 
will not even carry provisions for men of their own race up 
country. It is the grimmest of bad jests that we should be 
fighting to protect the lowest and most useless of all tribes 
against the single race upon this coast which seems to be 



126 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



worthy our interest. The king of Abra himself, and all his 
chiefs, were sent to the guardhouse last week for positively- 
refusing to follow up the enemy. Without any credit to 
the King and people of Abra, the Ashantees have been 
driven from their town, and now they decline to stir in aid 
of their compatriots. Yet these very men know and declare 
that unless Coomassie fall, the Ashantees will return in greater 
force before ten years are over. 

As I was preparing to set out for Akroful, Col. Wood 
arrived, attended by Lieut. Richmond, 50th regiment, who 
had been ill on board the ' Simoom/ We left in company, 
along an excellent road. To Lieut. Gordon, 98th, is due the 
credit of first making the bush path serviceable from hence 
to Dunquah, at a time when every yard of forest might be 
expected to contain an enemy. Lieut. Mann, R.E., has 
completed the work in a most admirable manner. We 
reached Akroful, a post so often mentioned in this war, after 
an hour and a half's travel. This collection of huts reaches 
the size supposed worthy of the title " town." It might 
have contained, when full, 500 inhabitants, and boasted a 
church, mission-house, and schools. In the street, as we 
walked in, were drawn up near a hundred Kossus, under 
charge of Lieut. Woodgate. More exciting news awaited us 
than could have been anticipated. The tale of my servants 
was confirmed with the additional news that a policeman had 
been waylaid that very day. Col. Webber, at Mansu, had 
sent word that he thought the road really cut, and begged 



AKROFUL. 



127 



reinforcements from Dunquah, -who should reconnoitre as 
they came up. Col. Festing, at Dunquah, passed the alarm 
to~ Akroful, whence 50 of the 2nd W.I. were immediately de- 
spatched. At the same time the Kossus received orders for 
a forced march from Abrakrampa, and they proceeded on the 
journey fifteen minutes after our arrival. I had intended to 
spend a day at Akroful, to learn the hairbreadth escapes and 
perilous adventures which, no doubt, live in public memory 
there ; but the news of action to the front urged me forward. 
Of the town there is nothing to be said. It is built of inud, 
roofed with palm leaves ; its street has a few trees in it. The 
houses crumbled down are perhaps more numerous than com- 
monly, and the roadway is a little more cut up by rain. Smells 
muchas usual. Inhabitants black, and women remarkably plain. 
There is no trade to tell of, no industry, no agriculture ; nor 
ever was. The average male creature has no courage, and 
the average female no virtue. I judge thus of its ethics 
because Akroful is a sample town in externals. The mission 
establishment, as usual, has proved a blessing to soldiers. 
The church is a hospital, the schools a barrack, and the mis- 
sion house is our acropolis and head- quarters ; it is fortified 
with ditch and breastwork, and the out-buildings are loop- 
holed. Behind the house is a little lawn, with palm trees 
dotted over it, and some vestiges, as I think, of a flower-bed 
here and there. Perhaps the mission lady had a fondness 
for gardening in the cool hour at sunset ; perhaps she took 
young Africans by the hand and led them out to see the 



128 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



effect of care and nurture on the feeblest life ; perhaps she 
taught them moral lessons with the hoe, and with a spade 
dug round their arid souls to plant therein the merits of work 
and the love of beauty. I fear if that good lady would but 
tell hard, cruel truths, she must needs confess the moral 
garden so prepared by precept could never at its best be more 
like hers than are these weedgrown, trampled parterres 
like the pretty beds she cultivated. But really I am making 
too many assumptions. The whilom missionary of Akroful 
may be a bachelor, with a mere taste for flowers. 

I dined with Colonel Wood in a pretty green arbour raised 
upon the missionary's grassplot. We had meat, both salt 
and preserved, eggs, ham, and other luxuries, soon to be ex- 
hausted. The great, slow, fireflies of Africa blinked at us 
from the ground, almost outshining our feeble lanterns. 
Wisely was the arbour preferred to the mission -house, where 
quarters had been assigned to me upon the table ; it was a 
long table, sacred to the school, I take it, but not large 
enough, properly speaking, for more than two persons, with 
their complement of rats. How many rats to a person ? you 
ask. I have no idea how they estimate the proportion. 
About fifty of the largest size, a hundred smaller, and a 
thousand of ordinary dimensions — as big as a young cat, say 
— would be about as near the thing as I can guess it. Eats 
of a friendly disposition were they, and of inquiring mind; 
influence of the missionary, say you, of his goodness, and his 
patient pursuit of education. I should be sorry to think 



RATS. 



129 



that any good man's work had been quite lost, and no traces 
of mission influence are to be observed in human subjects ; 
and yet, a little knowledge is a troublesome thing. I feel 
quite sure no rat of good nurture would approve the pursuit 
of anatomical studies from the outside, in a clothed subject, 
at dead of night. One may foster a love of science without 
going these lengths. The formation of a negro and a white 
man is sufficiently alike for purposes of study, and why, when 
there are a thousand naked blacks outside, why insinuate 
your inquiring nozzle between an Englishman's shirt collar 
and his flesh ? Why run up his trouser leg ? Why nibble 
his nose? I ask these questions in expostulation, not in 
anger. It was but a momentary rage which caused me to 
strangle that young rat in my blanket, and no one can lay to 
my prejudice the victim I smothered in sleep. As to the 
behaviour of Mr. Richmond, who flew around with a big 
stick, and made indiscriminate massacre of these students, I 
can't be responsible for that. But when the missionary 
comes back, 1 hope he will complete the education of the sur- 
vivors, who would appear to have become demoralised under 
recent events. So terrible a curse is war ! 

The Commander turned up again at Akroful. Keally this 
little man appears to be more irresponsible than the General 
himself. Woodgate took his Kossus through last night, but 
the Commander preferred to stay behind. At dawn we be- 
held him swaggering about, his head high up, hand on sabre, 
and the inimitable strut in his little bow legs. The Com- 

K 



13° 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



mander disdains Wood's uniform, in which feeling he has all 
our sympathy, for no costume ever was devised so hideous as 
the white shirt wherewith his brethren are clothed. Much 
better cling to the neat brown suit which nature gave, with 
just a red sash about the loins for sake of colour. By the 
bye, Dr. Reid tells me a funny tale of Kossu arrogance. He 
came from Sierra Leone with the second detachment of those 
fine fellows. They were enlisted under the chief of Waterloo, 
who accompanied them, a grey-haired man. Reid made 
friends with the dignified old fellow. One day, in conversa- 
tion, he asked how many wars the chief had fought in. No 
reply. Reid saw he was offended, and withdrew. Some 
hours after, the old man came to him leading a youth of 
twenty years old or so, " Sir," he said, " ask this boy how 
many wars he has fought; he will tell you. But don't ask a 
grey-headed man, because he doesn't know ! 33 Thereafter 
friendship was renewed. 

At 6 a.m. we started again for Dunquah, having first ad- 
ministered " two dozen " to a tall Gambia man, for getting 
drunk and howling us all into a fever. Every effort is made 
to keep liquor out of the camps, but not with entire success. 
A brisk trade is springing up amongst the peddlars of the 
coast, chiefly women, of course, who travel inland with a 
load of cloths and notions. Police are stationed half way 
between Cape Coast and Asseybo, to examine all merchandise 
for drink; but it is easy tor women to smuggle where there 
are no female searchers. 



THE ROAD FROM AKROFUL. 



Fantees of the sex have peculiar facilities. From the 
earliest age they wear a large " improver," of rolled cloth, 
which increases in size as they grow tip, and reaches an 
enormous bulk in women of rank. The use of it is to 
carry children astride, but no other race of people have so 
much need of the article. One can tell at a glance that the 
Fantees have no Hottentot blood in their veins; much the 
reverse. In the sacred "improver" a female chapman can 
carry two or three bottles without any suspicion, and doubt- 
less they do it. The marines, however, are proof against 
temptation. They have an idea, to some extent correct no 
doubt, that the fearful loss of life amongst their comrades 
earlier in the war, was due to drink, and they profit by the 
warning. Of a hundred and four marines, with six officers, 
who landed June 9th, but one private and three officers are 
left to boast that they have never been in the hospital. And 
the number of deaths you know too well in England. This, 
however, was on the coast, and during the rains. 

The road from Akroful to Dunquah was completed only 
the day before we went through, and gangs of labourers were 
still employed in smoothing it. Lieut. Mann is to be con- 
gratulated on his bridge-building. There was much swampy 
ground, and several streams, to be crossed. By the bye, I 
see it urged in the papers that the military road we make 
will at least advantage trade, if it do not carry us to Coo- 
massie. To one who has seen it, this happy notion has some- 
thing very ludicrous. Though a thousand bearers perhaps 

k2 



132 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



pass over the road every day between Cape Coast and Assey- 
boo, they do not suffice to check the growth of vegetation. 
No human power, not even the whip, will make Africans 
walk abreast. They will follow in single file, and they even 
wind about on our broad track just as if there were 
obstacles to encircle, as in the bush. In consequence, the 
sides of the road are already growing up, almost before they 
have been cleared ; and it is safe to predict that unless some 
novel means be devised to make the chiefs keep our track 
open after we have gone, within twelve months it will be bush 
as dense as ever, with a six-inch path winding in the middle. 
As one goes inland, the trees grow taller, and the under- 
growth less thick. Bamboo clumps become more frequent, 
and lovely little vistas can be seen across some stagnant 
pool, bestarred with lilies and nymphcea, the abode of snakes 
and dysentery and fever. The camp of Dunquah, always 
an important post when the Ashantees come down, stands 
on a hill, seven miles or so from Akroful. Here the Fantees 
made their single stand against the invaders, as I have told 
elsewhere. The English occupation of the place began 
by the detachment of Capt. Godwin, 103rd regiment, who 
was sent to examine, and to collect native troops. On Sep- 
tember 20th, Col. Festing, R.M.A., and Mr. Commissary 
Lundy, came up with a heavy train of stores, and not one 
fighting man. Beyond Akroful Col. Festing received a note 
from Capt. Godwin to say he was expecting an immediate 
attack from the immense force of Ashantees encamped close 



OCCUPATION OF D UNQ UAH. 



133 



by. Col. Festing returned to Akroful, armed forty of his 
bearers with the spare Enfields lying there, and resumed his 
march, arriving at dark. A messenger was immediately sent 
to Abrakrampa, and another to Major Home, R.E., who had 
already made his way to Mansu. From Abrakrampa arrived 
forty-four Houssas, sent back next day. Sub-lieut. Filliter, 
2nd W.L came up with thirty- seven West Indians, and native 
levies began to drop in. Col. Testing in vain attempted to 
make the people of Dunquah prepare their town for defence, 
or even to clear the streets and make it habitable. They re- 
fused to do so, even under a threat of burning. The officers 
then began to clear the hill above, and to build a redoubt ; 
amongst the plucky actions of the war, there are few to sur- 
pass that of Col. Festing and Capt. Huyshe, who pitched a 
solitary tent upon the bill, and slept there by themselves 
when the Ashantees were expected every moment. Undeter- 
red by threats, the Dunquah people persisted in their coward- 
ice and their filth, and the commandant kept his word by 
destroying their town after long notice. 

As soon as anything to be called a force was collected, 
Col. Festing followed his instructions to the letter in 
harrassing the enemy. On Oct. 27th he surprised their 
camp at Essekaboo, burnt it, and returned triumphantly. 
"What manner of fighting it is when Fantee levies are 
led against the foe may be guessed from the fact that 
five officers were wounded in this action. On Novem- 
ber 3rd another attack, of which the result is not quite 



134 



AN ABANDONED CAMP. 



so well ascertained, though our men had certainly the 
best of it : Mr. Wilmot killed. Then followed the little 
bombardment of Abrakrampa, and the hasty retreat of the 
Ashantees. 

At Dunquah there is now a large clearing, perhaps a 
quarter of a mile in diameter. In the midst is the redoubt, 
a solid earthwork, protected by a frieze of bamboo stakes. 
In such an open space an hundred men could defend the post 
against all the Ashantee army. All round are tents and 
mat-built huts of bamboo, thatched with palm-leaves. There 
are hundreds of natives here, belonging to a score of tribes. 
Kings are plentiful as pickpockets in England. No white 
troops remain, and but a few West Indians. 



i35 



CHAPTEE Y. 

HUMOUKS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 

Dunquah Camp — Absence of Vermin in West Africa — No Mosquitos, Fleas, 
Ticks, B's — Few Snakes — The Morning Parade — Disarming of Levies — 
Procession of a King — His Intents and Purposes — A Convoy of Women 
— Ashantee Prisoners — Houssa Recruiting— Colonel Festing — Examina- 
tion of Amanquattiah's Staff Officer — The Names and Tribes Opposed 
to Us — Incredible Extent of Ashantee Sovereignty — Movements of the 
Enemy — The Fetish Tree of Dunquah — Test of Faith — Lieutenant 
Pollard, R. N. — News of Kings and Princes — Lieutenant Mann, R.E., 
the Road Maker — Yancoomassie Fantee — Turning out the Villagers — 
Another Deluge — 111 Requited Charity — Cotton Trees — Mansu Camp and 
Fort — Captain Butler — Disheartening Account of the Akims — A Night 
March — Incredible Insolence of Sierra Leone Carriers — Major Home's 
Reconnaissance — Fortunate Treachery of Guides — Amanquattiah's Brother 
Captured. 

Dunquah, November 21st, 1873. 

The confusion of the Gold Coast mails, their unpunc- 
tuality, and indifference to the public interest anger the 
gentlest correspondent. They literally and avowedly come 



136 HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



and go as they please, now a week late, and now forty- 
eight hours soon. Nor can one blame the captains for this. 
No subsidy is given them, and the " trade " pays much better 
than letters. But it is a great nuisance that one should be 
unable to guess when a steamer is likely to leave. Corre- 
spondence is carried on with difficulty and annoyance in the 
bush, where are neither tents nor roofs under which to write ; 
where the rain it raineth every day like another deluge ; where 
are found neither candles nor lamp oil except one bring them 
with one ; where a man's paper is soaking or else his head is 
afire. A correspondent does not greatly long to write, sitting 
amongst centipedes and tarantulas. To take one's notes, to 
superintend the building of one's hut, and generally to vitu- 
perate one's " boys," is sufficient work, as a rule, when a man 
gets to quarters after tramping all day through the bush. 
Under such circumstances it is hard to work up rough memo- 
randa on " spec." 

Dunquah is by very far the most comfortable of the 
out-stations, and popular accordingly. I propose to tell 
something of the scene before me as I write, and the 
habits and customs of the camp. By 5.30 a.m. the most 
laggard of us is up and booted. For the rest of his costume 
it may be as xi y as you please, but boots are indispensable ; 
only this morning I saw a field officer taking reports and 
transacting business in the open air with no other clothing,, 
except a flanrel shirt. You see there are no ladies to be 
shocked by such omissions ; but, on the other hand, rightly or 



ABSENCE OF VERMIN. 



wrongly, we believe that guinea-worms and other plagues lurk 
in the sand. By the bye, as this letter is designed to be of 
the order gossippy, I have no compunction in digressing here 
upon the subject of vermin. Upon this score, Africa may 
make a boast. The malaria is undeniable, but we have no 
mosquitos. Fever is a melancholy fact, but fleas are non- 
existent. Dysentery makes many victims, but ticks harass 
not. The busy B walketh not by night, nor doth the jigger 
creep by day. For these mercies we give thanks, nor greatly 
abate our thanksgiving for the sake of a few sand-flies. 
Further up the country we hear of mosquitos, but I confess 
I am not much afraid. If common anywhere, I do not under- 
stand why they should be so conspicuously absent amongst 
these swamps, in the damp, hot weather so peculiarly suited 
to their maternal needs. Of course you will say that the 
climate is too bad even for vermin. Pm not going to dispute 
that, — but be their absence registered. Even the snakes, 
doubtless abundant enough, and the centipedes, which wriggle 
out in pairs when one turns up the ruins of a hut, and the 
scorpions, easy to be found no doubt, — even these pests keep 
their own places, as a rule, nor intrude upon the haunts of 
men. I have heard but of one snake entering a habitation, 
and he sneaked out in a shamefaced manner. I have been 
nearly bitten by a villainous little wretch that looked like 
a piece of black whipcord, but it was by the well outside 
the camp. I don't dispute that the reptilia of this coast will 
bear comparison with those portrayed in Callot's etchings 



138 HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 

of the infernal circle, but the common every day pests have 
no existence. 'Since Dunquah began to accumulate thou- 
sands of natives on its clearing, the houseflies have increased 
to an unpleasant quantity, but he who has travelled in 
Egypt, or on the plains of Southern Africa, must laugh 
when he hears them called a plague : and so much of this 
digression. 

At 5.30 a.m. the last of us springs from his bed of palm 
leaves, strewn upon a bamboo framework, and cheerily yells 
for " Sam," or " Tom/' or " Solomon," or " Sago." That 
ragged valet leisurely brings the tea, and then a pipe is lit, 
and master leaves his dwelling, accoutred as he will. There 
is a freshness in the air at this morning time, suggestive of 
anything but fever. From the deep valleys encircling three 
sides of our plateau, rise mists as dense as water. The mount- 
ing sun glides over them, and gilds the lofty trees, the ver- 
dant undergrowth, the palms, and snow white boles of ceiba 
on the next hillside. In the long broad roadway that divides 
the camp, hundreds of negroes squat, clad in the sheet which 
is their night-gear, and still wearing a turban twisted round 
their heads. Very graceful and picturesque they look, so 
clothed. Busy along the line are policemen in blue and 
scarlet ; chiefs, with stool and umbrella borne behind them ; 
and English officers, with the roll-call in their hands. I guess 
that these are " native levies," just disarmed for conspicuous 
cowardice, and about to be loaded up as carriers. One of 
those at the end of the line rises furtively, drapes his white 



THE DISARMED LEVIES. 



139 



sheet for running, and glides away. A roar from the quick- 
eyed officer , a scurry of policemen, and the fugitive is brought 
back, with the pride of innocence illumining his brow. " Only 
going to look for his brother — his brother Yarbro, you know [" 
Of course ! The policemen shake him, and the officer growls 
out, " Next time you'll have a dozen ! Tell him so, sergeant \" 
Feebly that too-affectionate youth returns to his squatting 
place, and his fellows jeer at him. A pace to the right stands 
a mess shed, under which two transport officers are busy, 
counting out small bags of money, all mint-new shillings, 
coined for this war. In front of them, expectant, stands 
Company X, of the disarmed levies, waiting for pay. Much 
Tiappier look these men than that long file of soldiers, still 
equipped, ascending now the steep. If truth be told in faces, 
the feeling of every man there is envy for Company X, which 
has had its fight, has been convicted of cowardice, and has 
gone through the shameful process which all know them- 
selves to deserve. The advancing company has not yet en- 
joyed the chance of running away, the result of which is an 
exchange from free and manly soldiering, at seven-pence half- 
penny per diem, to happy disgrace and a fifty pound load, at a 
shilling. The new-comers are followed by their king, an old 
fat man, wearing ten yards of old brocade, and carrying a 
stick with silver handle. In rear of him is the bearer of his 
gun, an ancient tool, and his powder boxes, primer, and slug- 
pouch, covered with leopard skin. Behind follows a crowd of 
chiefs and pages, provided with kitchen chairs, and stools, 



140 



HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



carved more or less handsomely, from a solid block of cotton 
wood. The favourite page bears the umbrella ; no instrument 
of gold and velvet, or thick quilted satin, as are the umbrellas 
of the Ashantee, standards in war, but mere Bond Street 
articles at sixteen shillings. I know what that king is going 
to do. He will march to the native quarter beyond the 
fort, send a string of innocent lies to Colonel Festing, eat 
a rolley-polley of ground corn, and squat down all his men on 
one side the road whilst he and his chiefs sit on stools upon 
the other. So will the day pass ; monarch in bursting pride 
of his authority, and men all silently adoring their commander 
from t'other side the way. The king will smoke, will drink 
his rum, and chuckle out fat speeches at an interval of fifteen 
minutes. The men will listen and applaud respectfully. 
And king and men will very conscientiously believe when 
night arrives, that a great movement has been made this day 
towards demolishing the Ashantees. 

By 7 a.m. the sun begins to warm us unpleasantly, and the 
mists have all dispersed. Nothing more noxious than this 
early sun. The midday flame is comparatively harmless, 
though painful. It does not take one long, in a climate 
where every indiscretion leaves its trace, to discover these 
fundamental laws. The blacks have now thrown off their 
sheets and turbans, appearing in short cloths, very tasteful of 
colour, harmonising exactly with the tint of their skins. This 
tint, by the way, is extraordinarily diverse, varying from the 
deepest, glossiest black, to a light brown ; — I speak of negroes 



A CONVOY OF WOMEN. 



141 



pure blooded, of course ; the mulatto colour is unmistakeabie. 
In Dunquah camp we have even two specimens of red-headed 
natives, both girls, and at Mansu, so a doctor tells me, I shall 
find a man with a red beard, quite hale and intelligent too, 
as intelligence goes in Africa. I know a child, also, who has 
grey-eyes, extraordinarily piquant and roguish in his jetty 
face. None of these anomalies have the slightest connection 
with the deformity called albino. Such poor wretches cannot 
be mistaken anywhere, their down look caused by weakness 
of sight, their ferret-like eyes, blotched skin, and colourless 
hair, marking them for what they are. Albinos too are in- 
variably idiotic in the tropics, so far as my experience goes, 
and I have seen many in the east, in tropical America, and 
here. But to proceed, as our forefathers used to observe. 
Behold a hundred or two of women filing up the hill through 
that busy crowd around the wells. They exchange merry 
greetings as they pass with the natives known to them. Each 
has a fifty-six pound box of ammunition on her head, and I 
^uess they came from Akroful this morning, having marched 
there yesterday from Cape Coast. You can observe how much 
better looking they are than their sisters of the bush, features 
more regular, skins more glossy, and figures more sy metrical. 
Not that the poor creatures approach the most generous limit 
of beauty. But, as a man may train his power of observation 
to distinguish varieties of character in fleas, so may a corre- 
spondent learn to perceive greater or less ugliness in negro 
women. Whatever the cause, it may be said there are no 



142 



HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



good looks away from the coast. Remark, please, that not 
one of the disarmed levies, now rolling their turbans into a 
pad, and preparing for the tramp, utters a word as the long 
train of women passes by. White men, I take it, would not 
be so decorous. 

The women of Africa pass cheerfully and modestly on, 
though three-parts naked, to the fort. If you had met them 
on the road yesterday you would have seen them laughing, 
singing, and dancing under their burdens. The men sullenly 
gird up their loins, wrangle over every package, and, if they 
had courage, would pitch the heavy boxes at your skull. Give 
us women ! is the cry of transport officers. That king of 
Dahomey who organised the Amazon corps was no unnatural 
tyrant. He appears to have been a' man of shrewd observation, 
superior to prejudice. Amongst the crowd pass up three 
Houssas, one jet-black, a serjeant, one the laughing, spirited 
little bugler-boy, and the last, the thin, wild-looking fellow, 
on whose lank limbs the picturesque uniform of the corps 
hangs baggy ; who is he ? Do we indeed recognise an Ashantee 
prisoner, the horrid skeleton we saw only a fortnight since at 
Abrakrarapa ! It is he indeed, the bugler boy assures me with 
a laugh, and the present errand of the three is to recruit more 
Houssas amongst the wretched crew squatting up yonder in 
their hut. Let us go with them. They pass through the 
women with a flash of eyes and roll of lips, just such as M. 
About described in the Turcos when ladies visited their camp 
at Saarbriick. The men they honour with no glance. But a 



ASHANTEE PRISONERS. 143 

month since there would have been black Helens to bewail if 
the fierce Houssa men had come on such a bevy. But steady 
discipline, the example of white officers, and the potent word 
({ unsoldier-like," has trained these gallant savages to temper- 
ance. Up to the right through the officers 5 tent, we reach 
the spot where two or three policemen superintend the labour 
of such captives as can possibly be asked to work. What 
hideous misery ! Out of some thirty there are but five with 
strength enough to dig a little drain. One is a grey-haired 
wretch who feebly grasps a spade with both hauds close to- 
gether, and prods the earth like a two-years' child. One, a 
youth of fifteen perhaps, lifts a pick — and sits down to recover 
the effort. The brawny serjeant, a West Indian I should 
guess, bullies them goodnaturedly, and takes the tools in hand, 
and smites until the sparks fly. They look on, and listlessly 
smile in deprecation. I swear they are a ghastly sight, these 
men more stark than ever was man before — for they are not 
clothed even in flesh ! Bones covered in ragged grey leather 
are all that is left them of human form. The youth of that 
boy holding a pick between his legs is told by no freshness of 
face or skin. He might be thought sixty if one looked at his 
features. Starvation, disease, and despair, have worn out the 
lines that nature drew. These are not Ashantees, but slaves. 
True Ashantees rarely escape the vengeance of our levies, when 
three or four hundred of them find a wretch alone. Those 
we have are thin indeed, but quite capable of work or fight, 
unless eaten up by nameless disease. They are getting break- 



144 HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



fast now, huddled under their prison shed. The wholesome 
food and water which we give them produces at first a disas- 
trous effect. One half are suffering from dysentery when 
captured, and these scarcely ever recover. The men compara- 
tively hale break out into dysentery, and boils and all manner 
of filthy ailments under the improvement of their diet. Nor 
do they recover flesh in such circumstances, which is not 
wonderful. The three Houssas are sitting by themselves, 
listlessly munching rice. A dreary word or two is all that 
passes amongst the prisoners. The serjeant and the bold 
little bugler speedily conclude their negotiations. It is diffi- 
cult to believe that these naked, squalid wretches are of one 
blood with our stalwart soldiers, so gay in blue cotton and 
scarlet sash. But their blear eyes light up when it is offered 
them to fight the cruel Ashantee, late their master, and two 
of them rise almost quickly to pay a visit to Lieut. Richmond 
for the purpose of enrolment. Little fighting will they do for 
many a day to come, but freedom, fresh air, and the hope of 
vengeance may be their best medicine. I think even that poor 
fellow left behind, stricken with elephantiasis, may recover, 
strengthened by that hope. 

Beneath the headquarters mess-shed, close beside his neat 
shanty, Colonel Testing sits, with map stretched out before 
him, examining an important prisoner. He invites me to 
hear the man's revelations, for in such a war there are no 
small secrets. The captive is leaning comfortably against a 
post, a slender fellow, with gentle eyes and ready laugh. He 



AMANQ UA TTIAITS STAFF OFFICER. 145 



is thin, and his black hide has lost its gloss, but he seems fit for 
anything. The face is distinctly a good one, very intelligent 
and of pleasing expression. He shows not the least sign of 
fear ; not peculiar in this respect, for real Ashantees never do. 

" This is an officer of Amanquattialr's staff," says 
Colonel Festing, " captured yesterday by the king of Ana- 
maboo. Now, interpreter, ask him whether King Koffee will 
run away when we go to Coomassie ? " 

The interpreter translates, but the only answer is an 
Homeric laugh. He recommences, and the prisoner shouts 
again. It is evidently a great joke, that suggestion of our 
visiting Coomassie. Patiently the question is repeated, and 
at length there is a laughing reply. 

" He say, 1 What good talking ? You never go to Coo- 
massie. No man, not friend, ever go to Coomassie. 5 " 

" Suppose we beat the Ashantees five miles from the 
Prah, and again five miles further, and again at the Adansi 
hills, what will the king do ? " 

" He say, ' You not get a mile beyond Prah before 
Ashantee fight, and then they fight again, and then again 
and again, and if you beat them four times they go to Adansi 
hills and fight again, and then all the Ashantee people 
fight for their king at Coomassie/ " 

" And if we still beat them will the king run away ? 
That's what I want to know." 

" He say, f Where the king run to ? He die, and all the 
Ashantee people at Coomassie/ " 

L 



146 HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



" Has the king much gold ? " 

The prisoner's answer is an expressive repetition. 

"Where is it?" 

" In a room of the f fort/ in a thousand jars one upon 
another." 

"Will he take it away?" 

"Where he take it to ? You kill king, his gold is yours." 

Colonel Festing then proceeded to the more practical part 
of his examination, and the staff officer answered without 
hesitation. It appears that the camp of Dunquah, so often 
worried by our men, was commanded by Essaman Quantah, 
the ancient general -in -chief of Ashantee, preceptor of all their 
generals. In this war he gave way to Amanquattiah, his 
favourite pupil, accepting command of the left wing under 
him. At Dunquah there were never more than 8000 men, 
nominally led by prince Benim-Pa, but actually commanded 
by Essaman Quantah. The other chiefs of that body, if you 
are curious to know their savage names, were, Eggia-kassi, 
Enin-katti, and Quassi Dumfi. Our informant knew less 
about this force than about the right and main body. The 
former is commanded by Gemoo, King of Mampon, beyond 
Coomassie ; at the crossing of the Prah this chieftain led 
12,000 men. Next to him is Poco, King of Bequoi, nearer 
to us on the Coomassie road ; he had 10,000 men at the 
beginning. The third commander is Attifora, King of Inko- 
ransa, on the borders of the Sahara desert. Thus far does 
Ashantee power extend. He also had 10,000 men. Great 



THE ASHANTEE FORCES. 



147 



part of this wing was engaged at Abrakrampa, whence, when 
things began to look a little black, King Gemoo and his 
force were sent ahead to cut a by-road to the Prah, to which 
foresight the army owes its salvation. The main body, also 
at Abrakrampa, is commanded by Amanquattiah in person, 
and consists of the forces of Boatin, King of Adnmtin, Yina, 
King of Antoi, and Juma, King of Ajunta. Whatever it num- 
bers now, it once could boast about 30,000 men. The entire 
army crossed for invasion came to 70,000 warriors, by our 
prisoner's report, which agrees with the Fantee computation, 
and is thought probable by Sir Garnet himself. At Abra- 
krampa we were confronted by all that remains of this 
formidable number, for Essaman Quantah marched in during 
the second day's fight, but his men took no part in it. 
Amanquattiah attacked contrary to the advice of all his 
captains, amongst whom the old Field-Marshal was most 
urgent in dissuading him. They were conscious of our sailors' 
presence, and reminded the General of his own imperative 
direction issued after the disastrous affair at Elmina, never to 
face white soldiers in the open. But he was obstinate, having 
sworn by the great oath of Cormantin to " plant his umbrella " 
in Abrakrampa. This oath of Cormantin recalls the disastrous 
ambuscade in which the great king Tottai was killed, with the 
flower of his nobility, early in the last century : Meminda 
Cormantin, Cormantin Saturday, though amply avenged, 
became henceforth the most sacred of their many oaths. Our 
prisoner had fought at Abrakrampa, and we endeavoured to get 

l2 



148 



HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



from him some idea of the loss. He could not deal in figures, 
explaining that Ashantees only counted the death of chiefs as 
loss. In the battles of Dunquah, and the many other affairs 
we have had, he declared there was no disaster at all, meaning 
no great chiefs had fallen. But Abrakrampa and Elmina are 
likely to become oaths in Ashantee, so great was the destruction 
of head men. From the accounts of officers left in garrison at 
Abrakrampa, there must have been the most terrible mowing 
down of warriors. The bush is full of dead, who had crept 
from the road to breathe their last; amongst them many 
chiefs of note. Lieutenant Allen, R.M., tells me that the 
other day he came upon a curious spectacle in wandering 
about. Upon a handsome bedstead, carved, and ornamented 
with brass nails, lay a festering body, covered to the chest by 
a silken cloth. Beside it was an open grave, in which, no 
doubt, the body was to have been placed. All round lay 
guns and tools, abandoned by the gravediggers in their hasty 
flight. By the bye, Mr. Gordon, of the 98th, says that the 
Ashantis, in the action beyond Addismadi, gave way not an 
inch until his Houssas had spent their ammunition and were 
obliged to retire; then the stampede began amongst the 
natives, and one Houssa was trampled to death, Mr. Gor- 
don and Mr. Cochrane, R.N., narrowly escaped the same 
fate. 

Our prisoner has no secrets, and I can scarcely doubt that 
he would join our force on sufficient inducement. He says 
that all the guns of Ashantee are across the Prah, leaving 



MOVEMENTS OF THE ENEMY. 



149 



only bows and arrows to defend Coomassie. The invaders 
are terribly short of ammunition ; and these facts make it 
doubly vexing that we have no means of heading them. 
There is, however, an abundant supply of powder and lead at 
the capital. He acquaints us, too, with the manner of fighting 
by which such an astonishing fusillade is sustained. The 
men are divided into companies of twenty, who advance to 
fire and run back to ]oad alternately. This, I understand, 
was the great discovery in tactics which gave Essaman 
Quantah a fame equal to that of Moltke in these regions. 
The plan of the enemy, we are told, is to pass up the 
side track cut by King Gemoo until past the furthest posts of 
our white men. They will then strike the main road and 
cross the Prah at Prahsu, as in advancing. If they should 
find the whole road occupied, which, unfortunately, is not 
possible, they will strike westwards, cross the Ofim, and 
rendezvous at Induardsoom, a town lying eastward of Abatra 
on the map, north of the river and Prahsu. To reach it, both 
the Ofim and the Prah must be crossed ; but the fords are 
known to them, and no enemies need be feared on that track. 
Much other information our prisoner gives, freely and 
smilingly. It is thought advisable to send a man so well 
informed to the General himself, and two Anamaboo warriors 
are ordered to escort him, with dire injunctions against doing 
him injury. But loud shouts from the mess-shed warn me 
that breakfast is ready, and I leave our courteous Colonel to 
perform his many duties. 



HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



The most curious sight of Dunquah is the great fetish 
tree, now prostrate. Many a rood it covers, lying across the 
Mansu road. When the Ashantees camped here, after their 
successful battle with the Fantees, they suffered from dysen- 
tery to an extent that caused a dangerous agitation amongst 
the troops. The fetish men were threatened with death 
unless they could devise a remedy. At length the oracle 
spoke, and ordered that this vast tree should be cut down. 
One cannot but think that the fetish men proposed a trial 
which they believed to be beyond Ashantee execution. With 
axes and saws and patent wedges, it would be no play for 
English woodsmen to fell a trunk sixteen feet in diameter, 
supported by buttresses four or five feet broad ; and well may 
the prophets have concluded that Ashantee knives would 
never succeed in cutting through the mass. Once more, 
however, the force cf numbers and of perseverance achieved 
a triumph. For fourteen days and nights the army laboured 
at this tree, until it fell, 

" As falls on Mount Avernus, 
The thunder- smitten oak ; 
Far o'er the prostrate forest 
Its giant arms lie spread, 
And the pale Augers, muttering low, 
Graze on its blasted head." 

Thus, doubtless, did the Ashantee fetishes gaze at the fallen 
tree. But history does not tell whether its destruction had 
the desired effect. 



LIEUTENANT POLLARD, R.N. 



The Marines are dropping ill very fast. Two of them have 
.gone back to-day, 21st. They are shamefully destitute of 
necessaries, in a climate where luxuries are almost requisite. 
I am living in an excellent hut with Lieutenant Pollard, R.N. 
He came hither from Abrakrainpa, recalled to wait upon his 
proper king, Chiboo of the Assins. Mr. Pollard made the 
great mistake of showing himself shrewder than his superiors. 
Stimulated as to his wits by the most imminent danger, he 
first discovered and announced that the Fantee levies were 
absolute cowards, lazy moreover, and not too well affected 
towards us. In no long time, under a course of the same 
education, superior officers re- discovered the same facts ; but 
meantime, poor Pollard had been bullied and blamed and 
recalled from Abrakrarupa just at the time when his inde- 
fatigable courage and perseverance were to be rewarded by 
victory. King Chiboo is just now well to the front, but 
Pollard is detained here, superintending various works. He 
takes things patiently, feeling sure that in no long time Chi- 
boo will save him the march to Mansu, by rushing back as 
hard as the royal legs can go. The works to be attended to 
are various stockades, huts, etc. One very big enclosure is 
for the use of carriers. At present they are marched into 
the fort overnight, and kept there under fixed bayonets. But 
Pollard's stockade will be as serviceable without the sentries. 
It is built of great bamboos, standing ten feet high, and close 
as they will fit together. What a pleasant war is this, where 
you must lock up your friends but may leave your prisoners 



152 HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



running free ! In digging the foundations of the stockade, 
many bones, chiefly of skulls, were found. They are said to 
be remains of those killed in the great battle ; but as I cannot 
hear that more than two Fantees perished therein, I don't 
believe that story. The king of Winebah, some of whose 
men distinguished themselves by running away with parti- 
cular dash at Abrakrampa, has led in the " balance " of his 
heros this morning. He is a little fat man, speaking English 
well. He says he has pursued the Ashantees a great distance, 
finding many empty camps, but his provisions failed him, 
and he and his men nearly starved. Colonel Festing had 
sent a number of carriers with food for this force, but the 
king declares it never reached him. The King of Anamaboo 
came in yesterday ; he reports many valorous actions, and the 
capture of much loot, with which he has entrusted his brother 
monarch, Chiboo. Mr. Pollard is in hourly hope of behold- 
ing that sovereign also in pursuit of his fellows. Mr. Com- 
missary Elliot, Dr. Fox, Lieutenants Fitzstubbs and Graves 
have arrived from Mansu, and this reinforcement of good 
fellows certainly makes of our little party a crew as pleasant 
as ever camped in forest. The permanent officers of Dun- 
quah are only Colonel Festing, Sub-Lieutenant Filliter, 2nd 
W.L, and Mr. Commissary Lundy, but they have always a 
crowd of guests. 

Mansu, November 23rd, 3873. 

The alarm at the front has entirely subsided. Guided 
by the information of that prisoner whose revelations I de- 



DEPARTURE FROM DUNQUAH. 



153 



tailed in my last letter, we can clearly understand how 
it arose. The Ashantees, retiring along our left flank, pushed 
out scouts to ascertain how far our posts had advanced. They 
speedily discovered that Mansu was impregnable to any 
force of theirs, and hastily withdrew to their uncomfortable 
track through the bush. Most unlucky it is that in the few 
hours of their reconnaissance they came across a policeman 
and a young girl, the former of whom was murdered and the 
latter carried off. The enemy having vanished again, Colonel 
Wood made more leisurely arrangements for advancing. We 
left Dunquali at 3.30 p.m. yesterday. The start should 
have taken place at 1 p.m., but some mistake was made 
in notifying the fact to Lieutenant Filliter, 2nd W.I., who 
acts as staff officer to Colonel Festing, and for once there was 
a hitch in the transport. By the order of some gentleman 
unidentified, the Anamaboo men, who had passed a fortnight 
in the bush, and really seem to have done service, were 
paraded to carry the baggage. Yery discontented they looked, 
and with reason. Colonel Festing inquired why his single 
corp of fighting natives should be selected to do duty as 
bearers, and then it appeared that Mr. Filliter had not been 
informed of our departure. The Anamaboos were dismissed 
to their guns straightway, and the camp swept of its idle and 
useless inhabitants. In a short time the road was lined with 
negroes fit for nothing but to carry, and we set out. Lieu- 
tenant Mann, R.E., had not yet completed his bridges and 
works more than three miles beyond Dunquah, but the bush 



154 HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



path cut by Lieutenant Gordon, 98th, is still tolerably open. 
A track does not become overgrown here as it does further 
«outh. The forest is too high for brushwood or grass to 
spring with freedom ; but, on the other hand, rain is so 
constant and so violent that the path is filled with water, and 
swamps abound. Cheerfully we trudged in the shadow of 
monstrous trees, and through great plantations of banana. 
With every mile beyond Dunquah the forest became more 
open and more shady, until all parties agreed that if no 
thicker jungle is found at the Prah our English troops will 
give a terrible account of the Ashautees. In fact, there 
are English coppices almost as dense as this terrible bush when 
once you get beyond Dunquah. This does not surprise an old 
traveller. It is quite evident that unless those plants which 
make the undergrowth of a tropic's forest can get an ample 
supply of sunshine, they will not grow. Where the timber 
has been allowed to reach its height one may walk almost in 
comfort through the very bush. The Malay name, in fact, for 
such ancient woods is Kampong, town or street. Where the 
trees have been cut down for the purpose of making plan- 
tations, there a million seeds that lay and rotted in their gloom 
spring up like Jonah's gourd. All round Cape Coast the 
land has been cleared periodically, and the trees never gained 
a chance to shut out the sun. Hence the impenetrable bush 
which surrounds it ; impenetrable indeed, but not more dense 
than Eastern jungle under similar circumstances. Here, 
beyond Dunquah, land has not such value, nor does it support 



YANCOOMASSIE FANTEE. 



155 



a thick population. It remains to be seen whether clearing 
has been carried to any extent along the Prah. The proba- 
bility is that it has not, and, if so, our task will be greatly 
simplified. 

Travelling through perpetual mud, and crossing many 
hollows filled knee-deep with rotting water, we pursued our 
march. Four miles from Dunquah the rain which had been 
threatening all day, came down in sheets. In a moment, 
those who had no waterproof were wet to the skin. Daylight 
only lasted us as far as Yancoomassie, when a halt became 
absolutely needful. A flourishing village here had been 
destroyed long since by the Ashantees ; its roofless walls 
were overgrown with creepers, and wild cucumbers. Bushes 
five feet high bowed their heads to the torrent, springing from 
the floors. Such is every village between this and the Prah 
a haunt of serpents and wild beasts. In an open space near 
by, a hundred or two of inhabitants, returning under our 
protection, had built lean-to's of palm branch and plantain. 
These poor folks we ruthlessly turned out into the night and 
rain with a shilling per family as compensation. Such is the 
cruelty of war ! But the commiseration of the charitable 
would be quite thrown away. I never saw more enthusiastic 
joy than was exhibited by those outcasts when paid their 
shilling and pushed into the rain. Whither they went I 
know not, but be sure they had a refuge handy. For us, 
those who were not troubled by ants enjoyed delicious 
slumber on a mud floor, with fires blazing at each corner of 



156 HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



the shanty. I except only the four marine artillerymen 
brought up to run the 7 lb. gun in charge of Major Home, 
R.E. These poor fellows formed part of the force brought 
up to Abrakrampa by the General when he came to our 
relief. In that sudden emergency they were ordered ashore 
without a change of clothes, a tent, or a waterproof amongst 
them. The intention was to send them aboard again within 
twenty-four hours, but the exigencies of the situation re- 
quired them to be detained. There are fifty of them at 
Dunquah, without a bed, a pillow, or a shirt to change. No 
wonder they are invaliding at a terrible rate, although the 
diseases of the bush are less serious than those of the 
coast line. People in England will of course put down to 
the climate any evil that happens, where simple neglect is the 
cause. Of the four unfortunates accompanying us, one had 
a borrowed waterproof, one a borrowed shirt, and one a 
borrowed great-coat, to sit in whilst his clothes were steam- 
ing by the fire. To the fourth I lent a dry shirt, and, with 
sorrow more than anger, I confess that to recover that 
garment prayers have as yet proved unavailing. At 2 a.m. 
the bugle called us to resume the march, but it was long 
after 4 when the start took place. The track was even wetter 
than before, and several rapid streams interrupted it. The 
bush continues to grow thinner beyond Yancoomassie, and 
the trees increase in height. Most charming bits of scenery 
open along the path, when the dense morning mists have 
vanished. There are indeed, no clearings, except around the 



MARCH TO MANS U. 



157 



frequent piles of ruin, but from the top of many a rise we 
could look down upon the most luxuriant valleys, a mass of 
tree-tops closely pressed together, surmounted by the giants 
of the forest. Though the earth be less encumbered by 
bush, the crush of foliage is astonishing when looked at 
from above. Lianas and parasites, many of them in blossom, 
bind all the mass together, and wind their slender arms trium- 
phantly above the highest bough. I saw trees loftier than our 
tallest poplars, not twelve inches in diameter at base, so 
eagerly have they struggled upwards to the sunshine. High 
above all towered the cotton-trees, monsters of the forest. 
Easy to see by their smooth trunks, scarce buttressed, though 
supporting such mighty boughs a hundred and fifty feet above 
the earth, that nature fears no hurricane in this climate. 
Their Mexican brothers can lodge a family in each chamber 
round their root. Then there were bamboo swamps, where 
grey twilight reigns at noon, so ponderous is the vegetable 
arch above your head. But nowhere any sign of life, except 
the small lizards hunting flies on a ruined wall. Once, far 
in the distance, we heard a loud, metallic cawing, said to be 
made by birds. And yet this was once a great hunting 
ground, from whence came numbers of black monkey skins, 
and parrots, and mongooses. But where the Ashantee goes, 
"Murder is in his van, with Fright combined, and Famine's 
fevered form and Solitude behind." 

A long march it is from Yancoomassie to Mansu, though 
the distance is put officially at thirteen miles. Both of these 



158 HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 

are intended to be halting places for the white troops in their 
march up. The spots at present selected are : — Aquapim, 
about eight miles from Cape Coast Castle, whither our men 
will march straight from the beach ; thence to Akroful, about 
the same distance; thence again, passing Dunquah without 
a halt, to Yancoomassie ; thence to Mansu, Akrofoom, and 
Faisoo. Beyond this point no selection has yet been 
made, of course. At Aquapim and Mansu, the enormous 
huts intended to shelter them are already complete, or 
nearly so. The halting places have been selected by the 
Sanitary officers, guided by local advantages. 

At 10.30 a.m. we reached Mansu, and found the Com- 
mandant, Col. Webber, 2nd W.I., laid up with fever, but 
not severely ill. Mansu Camp stands on a hill, surrounded 
by a broad clearing. Its citadel is fortified by a deep 
ditch, most excellently cut, and a palisade of bamboo 
stakes. Major Home, R.E., the designer of it, boasts 
that no Ashantee force could get in, or if in, could 
get out. If he have thorough confidence in his own 
fortification, it would obviously be desirable to offer 
Amanquattiah every facility to enter the trap. This 
strategical proposition, however, does not find favour in 
Major Home's sight. Whatever the theoretical advantages 
of Mansu redoubt, it is certainly strong enough for its pur- 
pose. On either side of the large parade ground before the 
fort, stand most excellent huts, built of split bamboo and 
roofed with palm and plantain. Those on the left hand can 



CAPTAIN BUTLER. 



159 



accommodate eighty men each. Mansu has never been 
attacked, but for some days past the Ashantees have been 
heard in the bush along our left ; they are now lying in a big 
camp only \\ miles from the path. There is very little sick- 
ness, though this place is extraordinarily damp. All expe- 
rience leads me to believe that with comfortable houses, good 
food, filtered water, and a reasonable care of oneself, Euro- 
peans could live in the African bush with scarcely more risk 
than in any other country of the Tropics. It is the coast 
line, the water, and recklessness that has given this quarter 
of the world such deadly eminence. 

An hour ago Captain Butler made an unexpected appear- 
ance. He was deputed a month since to raise the chiefs of 
Akim,- who lie to the Eastward of our track, and are heri- 
ditary enemies of Ashantee. I am sorry to say that Captain 
Butler confesses himself to have failed. With the limited 
means at his disposal, he could not compete with Captain 
Glover, whose profuse liberality has stirred all the tribes 
around to most astonishing activity. In calling Captain 
Glover profuse, I am not at all censuring, or even criticising 
his conduct. The proof of a policy is in its result, and the 
chief of our Volta expedition is certainly justified by his 
success. All Akim appears to be in motion towards Addah. 
Captain Butler could not even get a hearing, except by a 
handsome bribe to the second chief. When he obtained an 
audience, things were not more advanced. For the second 
king only observed, "This is the white man's war now. 



160 HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 

We had our fight in June and were beaten." So shame- 
less are these negroes. The first king had actually set out 
for the Volta before Captain Butler reached him. At the 
same time, however, it certainly appears to the non-pro- 
fessional eye, that the Akims might have .been much more 
useful to us on this line than to Captain Glover. But the 
report of Captain Butler is more discouraging for his estimate 
of the Akim warriors, who had been thought quite equal to 
Ashantees. Everything is summed up when he declares that 
the Eantees are better men in his opinion. Capt. Butler, 
however, may be misled by appearances. There is no doubt 
that the Ashantees respect the Akims, and the Akims only, 
as a worthy foe. They never approach their territory, scru- 
pulously keeping to the East of it ever since a disastrous 
battle many years ago. Captain Butler was taken with fever 
in its worst form during the voyage, when fifty miles of bush 
separated him from the nearest white man. I am happy to 
say he is getting over it. 

Akrofoom, November 24th, 1873. 
I am writing from the furthest post, the extremest front, 
of our army. Akrofoom lies about ten miles north of Mansu, 
the point which we have been used to consider as synonymous 
with furthest outpost. I came up to-day under great ex- 
citement. On arrival at Mansu late last night, the hint was 
given me that Major Home, E.E., in command at this 
place, proposed to attack the Ashantee camp at day-break. 



INSOLENCE OF SIERRA LEONE CARRIERS. 161 



2.30 a.m. saw all Col. Wood's force astir, and we actually got 
away within two hours — extraordinary quickness in Africa. 
But without Fantee carriers, who had all run away, in the 
lightest order we set out, but, unfortunately, our progress 
was not so satisfactory. About half a mile out, three ruffians 
of Sierra Leone, carrying baggage, conceived the idea of 
resting awhile. They accordingly put down their loads in the 
bush path, and sat on them and lighted pipes. The soldiers 
behind, Houssas, unable to see beyond the next man in file, 
so dark it was, naturallv concluded that the carriers halted 
by order, and they also stood. So did all behind. 

After half an hour, the officer of the rear-guard sent 
forward a corporal and two privates to ascertain the cause of 
stoppage, when the three Sierra Leoners were found comfort- 
able and asleep upon their burdens, whilst Colonel Wood and 
the main body were marching on two miles ahead. I con- 
ceive that those men deserve to be shot ; had it not been for 
the treachery I shall presently detail, Major Home would 
probably have needed every man he could raise. Colonel 
Wood, when daylight came, found himself divided from half 
his men by a two-mile gap, and the Ashantees in force a mile 
from the track. There are a few officers in the English 
army who would have punished those men, so that all who 
saw should remember it. In the Prussian, or any other 
service, they would have died then and there, but the dread 
of Exeter Hall is an abiding shadow over our officers \ they 
would rather risk their own invaluable lives again and again, 

M 



162- HUMOURS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 



than run the risk of encountering the Evangelical groan ; and 
so these ruffians of Sierra Leone got off with a reprimand, 
and we poor white wretches had to trot at six miles the hour, 
in an African sun, to catch the vanguard, in which attempt 
we never succeeded. The track was very wet, great part of 
it being actually in the bed of a stream. 

These night marches are the most weirdly of experiences. 
By light of a candle end, in the filthiest of lanterns, we turn 
out. But one corner of the great bare hut is feebly 
brightened. The bamboo bed along each side stretches back 
dimmer and dimmer, till lost in utter blackness. At the 
further end, a dull red glow of last night's fire ; circling mists 
of damp between; fantastic figures crossing and vanishing. 
Then, when the toilet is complete, out into the dense black 
night. No stars shine through the fog. In devious gyration 
round the camp, move bales of illuminated vapour, in which 
is seen no central light, nor figure of the man who carries it, 
so thick and heavy is the air with moisture. These moving 
halos converge to the parade ground, and gradually form line. 
Weapons glimmer. The pile of baggage is lit up by concen- 
tration of the lanterns, and white-robed carriers sneak from 
the darkness into light, intent upon securing the easiest load. 
Officers hurry up and down, shouting, explaining, and revil- 
ing. A dozen alterations must be made at the last moment, 
for what has been commanded is not done, and that which 
has been done was not commanded. After an hour of dreary 
waiting, we move off, a lantern carried close to the ground 



A NIGHT MARCH. 



between each four files. We go in single line. The men are 
numbed and silent with the cold. Their feet make no sound 
on the moist earth, their accoutrements scarcely rattle. Like 
a dim procession of ghosts we wind among the trees. Leaves 
and reeds glimmer for an instant in red light, then vanish, 
then reappear, as the low lights swing round, velvet blackness 
hangs overhead. We traverse zones of faint and sickly odour. 
There is no perfume in the Afric night, but smells of swamp 
and fetid fruit hang on the air. Black streams of ants, 
bristling with legs and antennae, traverse the roadway, causing 
our barefoot soldiery to stamp and swear in an undertone. 
Ants never seem to sleep. Through all the hours of the 
twenty-four those columns will not cease to travel. The grey 
dawn comes, so slowly, through the trees. The black mists 
whiten their curling crests, and mount and mount, until they 
hang, a mere film, amongst the tree-tops. Then the sun, 
unseen, casts level rays above our head. The last lantern is 
extinguished. Swiftly the light creeps down, until the 
sparkles of sunshine flick us in the face. The day is begun, 
and the burden thereof. 

Major Home, meanwhile, had left his camp at 6 a.m. 
when -we ought already to have joined him. He went 
nearly due west, and very shortly found the Ashantee posi- 
tion ; several abandoned camps were passed through, under 
the guidance of twenty Denkera scouts; a few straggling 
Ashantees, mostly ' slaves, were caught or killed. Then the 
party divided, some returning" towards Akrofoom, and some 

m 2 



1 64 HUM URS OF AN AFRICAN CAMP. 

pushing on; the Houssas and our precious Kossus were 
amongst the indefatigables, of course ; so was Major Home, 
Captain Butler, and Lieutenant Woodgate. Captain Huyshe 
returned with the West Indians. They got in about 10.30 
a.m., and reported that the Ashantees over against us had 
been but 2000 men. At mid-day, Home and his men 
tramped in, with mud to their waists, and wringing with 
perspiration. Quite by accident, and against the directions of 
their guides, this party had stumbled on the real camp ; the 
Denkeras had been afraid to take them there. Perhaps it 
was lucky, — for the great camp, cleared to a quarter mile 
width, took three quarters of an hour to march through ; the 
huts stood thick as in one of our posts, and the signs of 
habitation such that Major Home and Captain Butler both 
estimate the number of Ashantees at 10,000 to 12,000. 
Perhaps it was as well our 200 men did not find the nest 
until the birds were flown, for, to tell truth, the enemy seem 
to be frightened not a bit. In vain have we fired volleys 
from the Snider, rockets, and shells, and cannon; they are 
brave and bold as ever, only they want powder. As the 
Houssas marched into camp, the sick and retiring fired into 
them ; three Ashantees were killed, and three captured. 
Amongst them was a hideous wretch, stark naked, whose face 
had been eaten away by lupus. He is said to be brother to 
Amanquattiah, but bears little likeness to that proud and 
magnificent chieftain. Brother by a slave woman, I should 
think ; but perhaps even the great Ashantee General would look 



IMPENDING CONTESTS. 



mean if stripped and a prisoner. A Fantee slave and his wife 
were captured. The woman had one of her legs slit down 
from knee to ankle, and the man had lost both eyes. These 
mutilations were the punishment for an attempt at escape. 
From the prisoners one learned that Amanquattiah himself 
had commanded, leaving for the Prah only yesterday. He 
has eight wives with him. A first party from this camp had 
already gone the day before. Had the Denkera guides led 
Major Home rights he must have found the entire rear 
guard of 3000 men in camp, and a desperate fight they 
would undoubtedly have made. I venture to predict from 
what I see — not a bit from what I hear — that our soldiers 
will find very stiff work beyond the Prah. It is seldom a 
correspondent should prophecy, but I wish the public to 
make no mistake. There is going to be a fight up yonder, 
perhaps six fights, or more still; 2500 Englishmen and 
West Indians against 60,000 savages in the bush, men 
brave as could possibly be, fearless of death to a degree only 
explained by their horrible customs. We are going to make 
that fight for the sake of the most cowardly and useless race, 
even of Africa, — people such that one does not even count 
their levies as fighting men ; and those killed in the victory 
we gain will be of the only people of the coast on whom some 
progress, some hope, may be expected. But of fighting on 
this side the Prah there is an end * Major Home, at Akro- 
foom, had the very last chance at the foe, and was betrayed, 
of course, by the cowardice of his Fantees. 



i66 



CHAPTEK VI. 

A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 

The^Cheek at Faisoo — Loss of Baggage — Lieutenant Pollard's Escape — The 
Truth about Addismadi — Eestored Courage of Ashantees— The Return 
March — Death of Lieutenant Grey, R.M. — Heavy Rains — Captain Rait, 
R.A. — Our Cannibal Recruits — Their Customs — The Three Cannibal 
Ju-jus of Bonny — Wealth of Ornament in Cape Coast — Skill of Natives 
in Medicine — A Fantee Hair Dye — Filliter and his Hammock Men — 
Yisit to Elmina — A Vision of Fairyland — The Castle and Town — Captain 
Helden — Slave Questions — Ashantee Oaths — Arrival of { Himalaya ' and 
* Tamar ' — They go for a Three- Weeks' Cruise — Our Scouts Reach the 
Prah — Captain Buller's Visit — Review of Ashantee Prisoners — Start 
for the Prah — Akroful— The Fight of the Doctor and the Tarantula — 
Desperate Engagements — Final Triumph of the Doctor — Appearance and 
Character of the Tarantula — Other Spiders — An Unknown Species — 
Roadside Camps —Diseases of Women — The Sutah Lily — Life with 
Captain Fowler — Ashantee Camps — Barraco — Assin Burial-place Plun- 
dered by Ashantees. 

Cape Coast Castle, December 1st, 1873. 

Pushing out a reconnaissance on the 27th, with about 200 
men, West Indians, Houssas, and Kossus,and a mob of natives, 
Col. Wood came upon the rearguard of the Ashantees near 



THE CHECK AT FAISOO. 



167 



Faisoo. They retired, fighting, a distance of about three 
miles, until reaching the camp of the main body; into it 
dashed Colonel Wood, the Ashantees vanishing. In a few 
moments a startling fire issued from the bush, in front and 
on both flanks ; the cry arose amongst our men that they 
were surrounded, and, indeed, they would have been in a 
very short time. The order to retire was given, very unne- 
cessarily. For our black proteges had not awaited it; 
their brilliant intelligence outran the Coloners phlegmatic 
reasoning, and had overpassed its conclusions. "'Retire/' 
said the white protector; but the black protected had cried 
" Bolt ! " several minutes before. An energy in action they 
displayed worthy this quickness of thought. To see a 
Fantee running away from an Ashantee is to see that brother 
man and fellow-subject at his very best. What speed, what 
agility, what endurance does he display ! The heat affects him 
not, rivers stay him not; beneath his feet might an earth- 
quake roll unheedingly away. " Winds wherein seas and 
stars are shaken might shake him, and he would not" — stop. 
The King of Chiboo lately set forth to battle with the in- 
vaders of his hearth and home ; much spoil of rags and bones 
took he in camps abandoned of the enemy. A fortnight he 
pursued the retiring foe; but never, never, could his daring 
fellows catch them up. Heads and captives he forwarded to 
Dunquah, with the most cheering reports of progress; the 
captives were all slaves, women and boys only fit to show in 
a fair as living skeletons, but real Ashantees should be 



i68 



A PA USE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



brought in immediately, for they were but twenty-four 
hours — but twelve hours — but six — but three hours ahead. 
It became evident to Colonel Festing that the Chiboos must 
shortly overtake them at this rate. The same calculation 
worked itself out in the King's mathematical brain, and very 
grave grew he. To sack abandoned camps, to catch and 
behead poor slaves, were pleasant occupations, but to inter- 
fere with real live fighting Ashantees presented itself to the 
monarch's mind as an act unworthy of Fantee civilisation. 
But halt he dared not. In this dilemma his subjects proved 
themselves deserving ; one bright day, as they tramped with 
dire misgivings through the bush, making a fearful noise, no 
doubt, with drums and horns, around the heads of two poor 
wretches captured on the march, there was a halt in front, a 
murmur, a simultaneous discharge of every gun amongst the 
crowd, and flight tumultuous. The men in front had seen 
one Ashantee, armed, walking along the path. The Chiboos 
bolted from Mansu to Yancoomassie, fifteen miles or so, at 
sight of a single enemy. This is the truth, dolefully dragged 
from the King himself by his commissioner, Lieutenant 
Pollard, R.N. No one, therefore, would have been surprised 
at the natives running away when threatened with a sur- 
round. Unfortunately, it has to be added that the greater 
part of our Houssas and Kossus followed their bad example ; 
The English officers were left almost alone with fifty men of 
the 2nd W.I. regiment, who had accompanied the reconnais- 
sance. Lieut. Pollard, accurately judging the crisis, wedged 



THE TRUTH ABOUT ADDISMADL 169 



himself between two gigantic Houssas, and seized them round 
the neck with a clasp of desperation. His feet never touched 
ground for 200 yards, when the flying column was brought to 
stand by a fallen tree. Our force had one Houssa killed, 
two Houssas and two West Indians wounded. An empty 
ammunition box, part of a tent, and the store of eatables 
laboriously collected by Lieutenant Richmond for his private 
use, made all the spoil of the victors; but every action 
ending in a doubtful manner is much to be regretted. After 
the rout of Abrakrampa, our foes were evidently demoralised. 
They had learnt there the power of English arms, and 
desired nothing but to escape another lesson. The disastrous 
affair beyond Addismadi, next day, where the retreating 
Ashantees made a desperate and successful stand, and our 
natives fired into each other, revived their spirits. Lieut. 
Cochrane, R.N., tells me he had 24 killed and many wounded 
out of his single levy, numbering 180 men. Our natives 
stampeded too quickly for pursuit in that action, but that the 
enemy followed them up was proved next day by the many 
headless bodies on the path. So short a time did our prestige 
last. And the desertions from us were equally convincing of 
misfortune • only 20 men answered the roll call, when Mr. 
Cochrane mustered his men thirty-six hours after. The 
native levies sent out under their own kings report brave 
actions, but one must take their word for them. The king 
of Anamaboo declares himself to possess a gold-handled 
sword, and valuable spoils of every sort, captured in the re- 



A PA USE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



treat ; but nothing of it is forthcoming. One cannot tell 
what disgraceful stampedes may have taken place. Cer- 
tain it is that before arriving to the level of Mansu, the 
Ashantees had recovered courage, although desperately short of 
ammunition. They even ventured on an ambuscade upon the 
Akrofoom road, into which Major Home, R.E., and his 
party fell when proceeding to occupy that village. Two putri- 
fying corpses in the road itself witness the heroism of their 
attack. This pair, perhaps small chieftains, devoted themselves 
to death in the hope of killing Major Home. They rushed out 
from the bush, one after another, came to the very roadside, 
and fired point blank. Not much sign of panic there, al- 
though the ambuscade failed entirely, and this recent action, 
in which the enemy have even captured spoils, an empty box, 
a piece of canvass, and a case of provisions, as I have told, 
will restore all their shaken confidence. Col. Wood has ap- 
plied for and obtained a sort of body guard for his officers, 
consisting of fifty sailors and marines, who went up to him 
on the 29th ult. 

The General left to-day, with Major Baker, on a tour 
of inspection round the outposts I have lately visited. We 
have to regret the death of Lieutenant Grey> R.M., of 
fever and dysentery; it was terribly sudden, for when I left 
him at Dunquah, four days since, he scarcely complained of 
uneasiness. The poor fellow was buried this afternoon. 

Of the journey back to this place, little in my diary is 
worth recording. I note one of the extraordinary features of 



SURVIVORS OF MARINE FORCE. 



this war exhibited in the return march from Akrofoom. 
Captains Huyshe and Butler desired to regain Mansu at once, 
as did I, but it never occurred to us to travel together, though 
the bush must be full of straggling Ashantees. As we were 
all to travel in hammocks, there could be no companionship, 
and we set out at half hour intervals, each alone, nor fearful 
of danger. I got away at 3.30 p.m. About an hour after 
starting, the rain came down in spouts and sheets. I had 
already enough experience to know that this meant fever to 
my men, so sent them along at a run, and dosed them with 
quinine on reaching Mansu. But they all suffered in the 
night, and could scarcely do their work next day. Found 
Colonel Webber at Mansu much better. Observed one of 
my boys greedily bargaining for a puppy dog. Asked what 
it was for, and he showed all his teeth in answering, " For 
ohop ! " English, " To eat ! " 

Starting at 6.30 a.m. on 25th, met Captain Despard, B,.M., 
at Yancoomassie Fantee, conducting a train of 502 carriers, 
laden with 238,000 rounds Snider rifle to the front. Colonel 
Festing, Captain Despard, and Lieutenant Allen are the 
three surviving officers of that marine force which landed in 
J une last. They have one sergeant comrade and one private. 
The sergeant is a quaint fellow. He appears to take it as a 
grievance that he should have outlasted so many stout fellows, 
and complains that " people look at him." What a task was 
Despard' s with those five hundred stupid cowards, and only 
four or five " head men/' almost as stupid and more cowardly, 



172 



A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



to help him. Verily, the officers detailed for transport 
deserve some special recognition from the Humane Society, 
or the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Few 
civilians would have shown such patience. At noon, tremen- 
dous rain ! rain to out-deluge any I have yet seen in the four 
quarters of the globe. I felt what seemed scarcely possible, 
the to eight of falling water on my head, as if poured from a 
bucket. Hurrying on, up to mid leg in water on the hill- 
sides, above the knees in every hollow space, I reached 
Dunquah before the road became impassable ; all the streams 
and swamps here are already bridged, or, of course, we could 
neither have advanced nor returned. Dunquah camp was 
wholly drowned out. Huts and tents alike had a flood under 
foot. There is a terrible want of labour on this part of the 
road. It is alleged that Colonel Webber absorbs more than 
his share of carriers ; not for private purposes, it need scarcely 
be explained, but for pushing stores beyond Mansu. There 
is an immense accumulation here, and no convenience for 
storing it. Fortifications of the redoubt greatly damaged by 
the rain. Marines recalled to their ships at last ; twenty-one 
of them went down with fever or dysentery in three days, 
out of forty ! I have told in what shiftless trim they were 
landed. 

Rain and rain to Akroful next day, and my men very weak 
and feverish. Met Captain Rait, R.A., with his artillery 
harnessed to commissariat bullocks. He is taking up a 
howitzer, two 7 lb guns, and a Gatling. The bullocks seemed 



SPIRITED CONDUCT OF THE WOMEN. 173 



to work very fairly, but, for some unexplained reason, Captain 
Rait's idea was not again used. The road between Akroful 
and Cape Coast crowded with women carrying tins and rice 
for the advance. I calculated there were not less than 2000 
of them, all lively, all eager in pushing on. It is a pleasure 
to see the head women leading their convoys. What majesty 
in their deportment ! With what an air they wield the 
-silver- topped stick of office ! — nothing masculine like that, 
save the swagger of French tambour -majeure ! And how 
well they do their work, these stout dames ; what order and 
regularity they keep ! I wish the women of Africa would 
just " rise in their thousands " and assert that superiority so 
manifestly possessed. 

Dec. 7th. We have absolutely no news of importance ; the 
most exciting intelligence current only relates to the progress 
of the road, the devices of the transport service to obtain 
labourers, and the health of our men; on this point the 
report is very satisfactory. We have but one white man ill 
in the advanced posts, exclusive of officers ; several of these 
are suffering, but not with serious complaints. Captain 
Furse now occupies the honourable position of leader to 
our march; he is expected to be at Yancoomassie Assin 
to-day. The Ashantees are still retiring to the Prah with 
greater expedition, it is said, than latterly. Prisoners all 
report that Prince Mensa, brother of the late king, was killed 
in the outpost affair at Faisoo ; if it be true, this fact may 
account for the enemy's quickened movements, for the 



174 A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



loss of a chief so great would much depress them. Sir 
Garnet Wolseley and Major Baker have not yet returned 
from their tour; Commodore Hewett, V.C., who accompa- 
nied them, is expected back on Tuesday, but the General's 
movements are less certain; he is sure to return, however, 
some time this week. No action of any sort is thought 
probable ; the story of the natives is that King Koffee has 
sent ample stores of powder and food to his army, with the 
uncomfortable assurance that he'll cut off the head of every 
man who crosses the Prah without his order. The proceed- 
ings of the enemy seem to make this report improbable ; our 
outposts are now within twenty miles of the river, and still 
they retire. Of course, we could desire nothing better than 
a fight on this bank, with the English soldiers to lead it, but 
the road for them is not yet complete beyond Mansu. 
Serious difficulties are now commencing ; there is four miles 
of swamp between Akrofoom and Eaisoo, which must be 
bridged somehow. From Captain Glover there is nothing 
new; he has sent Captain Sartorius, with 3000 men, to test 
the temper of the tribes on his projected line of march beside 
the Volta, the eastern bank ; no appearance of hostility was 
found, and Captain Sartorius is supposed by this time to have 
returned to Addah, where his chief is still preparing for his 
expedition against the Ahoonahs. It would seem that they 
present a more formidable front than he had expected, for the 
invasion should have begun a fortnight since. The Wassaws 
are afrlast in motion for their long-talkcd-of attack on 



THE BONNY CANNIBALS. 



175 



Charnah, and our men of war are preparing to support them; 
but, though stirring times are evidently at hand, we cannot 
do more. We are patiently awaiting the English troops ; 
until they arrive, nothing further can be done in active war- 
fare. The Ashantee force is believed to be all collected 
below Prahsu, where it presents a front much too formidable 
for attack by the few scores of men at our disposal. Colonel 
Wood, commanding the advanced posts, is not likely to put him- 
self again in such a dangerous position as was his in the action 
of the 27th ult. 

Recruits of a better type than Fantees are arriving. 
Houssas in bran-new uniform come in small parties from the 
leeward, and wild Kossus from Sherborough Island perform 
their war dance in the court-yard after each windward mail. 
More novel and extraordinary was the company of Bonny 
cannibals, recruited by Captain Nicol, who made their appear- 
ance on the 28th. Recruited is not the proper word, for 
these fine fellows are in fact a present from King George of 
Bonny, who has raised and uniformed them at his own 
expense to prove his gratitude to England and England's 
queen for acts of kindness during his late disaster. 

Every one must have noticed, during the last three years, 
the names of Ja-ja, and Oko Jumbo, reported to be alternately 
successful in a savage war upon the Bonny river. These are 
two very powerful chiefs, both subject nominally to King 
George, but practically quite independent of that worthy old 
gentleman. For some mysterious cause of quarrel, they 



i 7 6 A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 

plunged into the most desperate struggle, each occupying one 
side of a narrow river. King George's capital was taken and 
retaken several times with fearful bloodshed, in spite of all 
justice and in face of protest. How, exactly, we earned the 
monarch's gratitude I confess myself ignorant, for the inhabi- 
tants of the Gold Coast, unlike those of Sierra Leone, do not 
profess to speak authoritatively about events taking place five 
hundred miles away in another country. It seems probable 
that two years of constant fighting, most deadly and deter- 
mined, exhausted the resources of each party. One of the 
chiefs retired at length, confessing his defeat, and leaving 
poor King George at rest. For this result, he thinks grati- 
tude is due to England, and he displays it handsomely by 
contributing a hundred of his best soldiers to our service. 
Fine looking fellows they are, well-drilled, accustomed to the 
use of breechloaders, and trained to war at home by the 
anarchy of the last three years. Their uniform, also a present, 
consists of tunic and trousers in dark blue " baft/' girt with a 
scarlet sash, and crowned by a cap of light blue velvet. 
Excellent taste has king George ; though, for that matter, 
every negro of the coast may make a claim. Our Houssa 
uniform, which much resembles this in colour, is very service- 
able and very neat, but the red tarboosh does not please the 
eye so much now we have seen the effect of pale blue velvet. 
The Bonny men are led by their king's son. In the Gold 
Coast Gazette, of November 29th, we have read, " Prince 
Charles Pepple to be captain, and Mr. John Jumbo to be 



THE THREE JU-JUS. 



177 



lieutenant, in the Bonny Native Contingent attached to Wood's 
regiment of Foot." Both these gentlemen were educated in 
England, and will converse with you upon any European 
topic, with more than average intelligence. 

And yet they are cannibals, you exclaim. I fear it is a true 
charge, not of the prince or his lieutenant, of course, but of 
their men. For fear of a terrible outcry from the " man and 
brother " party, I haste to explain in what degree our Bonny 
recruits practise this deplorable habit of eating people. Can- 
nibalism is with them a religious custom. For aught known 
to my informant, Captain Nicol, of the Hampshire militia, it 
may be to the great mass of Bonny croyants as offensive and 
as painful to observe, as the Pope's Syllabus to liberal catho- 
lics; but there is the fetish man, there his command, and 
it is duty to obey. The Bonnys, it appears, have three great 
Ju-jus, or hidden powers. First comes the Yam Ju-ju, 
whose influence decides the harvest ; to him is sacrificed each 
year, at the recurrence of the yam crop, a human being, 
generally a prisoner. His Tiead is cut off, without torture, 
and that, with other sacred fragments, is hung in the temple 
till next year brings another victim. Then comes the War 
Ju-ju, who is invoked at the declaration of hostilities, and 
propitiated from time to time by human sacrifice, with the 
same ceremonies. Last comes the white man's Ju-ju, who 
has trade in charge. His victim is a young Albino girl, which 
are common on that coast. After selection, at the appointed 
time of year, the child is given some weeks of unlimited 

N 



i 7 8 



A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



indulgence, being regarded as sacred. She is conducted in 
procession every day through the markets and the town, 
bearing a white wand. With this she is encouraged to point 
at anything that strikes her fancy, the which is immediately 
seized by attendant priests and confiscated for the Ju-ju's 
service. When the time comes, the child is put into a canoe 
very secretly, and cast overboard at the bar of the river, thus 
propitiating the deity, who has it in power to upset the white 
man's boats when coming to trade. Her poor little body thus 
escapes the fate of her fellow victims, who are devoutly eaten 
up by the crowd of faithful. King George and his sons have 
done their best by ridicule and example to repress this yearly 
slaughter, and not without effect. It may safely be predicted 
that human sacrifice is on its last legs at Bonny. 

From this account it will be seen that the cannibalism so 
much talked of is purely superstitious, and practised on a very 
small scale. The Ashantees are in no danger of being eaten, 
for the yearly appetite of our friends was doubtless appeased 
before leaving their own country. And it is quite certain 
that Captain Prince Charles Pepple, who will dine with you 
on a proper introduction^ and invite you to dinner in return, 
would not countenance any hors d'auvres of human flesh. Be 
our minds therefore peaceful on this point, so that we may 
leisurely discuss, if occasion arise, whether it would or would 
not be justifiable to use real cannibals, the Fans for instance, 
against this truculent, murderous Ashantee. Who that has 
seen the awful signals of his course, the battered villages, the 



THE CRUELTY OF ASHANTEES. 179 

uprooted orchards, the over-grown plantations, the bones that 
strew that solitude which once was thronged with harmless 
life ; who that has heard the torturing, the ravishments which 
show alike Ashantee joy in victory or vengeance in defeat ; 
who that has shuddered at the sight of girls scarcely yet 
beyond childhood, whose withered breasts and tottering limbs 
would seem to mark the last decrepitude of age; of men 
stapled to a log weighing fifty pounds, and made to work, 
finding their own food, dragging this load by the wrist; of 
women ripped from knee to ancle, to prevent their escape, and 
men deliberately blinded for the same purpose — who so 
horribly benevolent as to declare that any aid, any means, 
could be inhuman when the object is to crush the doers of 
such deeds? I have done justice before now to the good 
points of the Ashantee character. They are brave, in- 
genious, enterprising, and industrious, beyond the other 
natives of the coast. I have told also how useless and how 
cowardly are the Fantees. But there is a law older and 
higher even than that which enjoins upon us industry. 
The command, " Thou shait do no murder," was not addressed 
to Christians, nor is it forcible on one colour or at one time. 
Pew are the races of humanity that disdain the law, and these 
must be taught obedience at any cost when occasion arises. 

The three weeks which I spent at Cape Coast Castle in 
this pause of operations were the very dullest I recollect. All 
military operations had come to a standstill, in the absence 
of an enemy. A busy time it was for engineers, transport 

N % 



i8o 



A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



officers, control, and staff, but the fighting force had turned 
its sword into a bill-hook. My diary contains only such 
items as the requisition of a church for hospital purposes. 
Cape Coast is a hunting-ground of the Wesleyan missionaries, 
whose is the big chapel opposite Government House, but 
sundry chaplains have laboriously circulated the established 
dogma. I was gratified to observe that whilst the Wesleyan 
edifice had square windows, ventilators, and other vulgar 
conveniences of this climate, the episcopalian church showed 
an architecture orthodox and Gothic, small pointed windows, 
narrow doors, and a roof like a spire. This is the building 
demanded for a temporary hospital. 

At the great epochs of woman's life, puberty, marriage, 
and birth of the first-born, there is an extraordinary display 
amongst the natives here, whether slave or free. They dress 
their wool with unusual care, shave the circlet of head more 
closely, buy or borrow a silken cloth, and beg the loan of all 
their friends' jewellery. In case of slave girls, it is a matter 
of pride with the mistress to set them off magnificently on 
these occasions. I am told that when a favourite slave of 
Mrs. Swanzy's comes to womanhood, all the town assembles 
to admire the show. The favourite wife of the chief opposite 
this house has just celebrated the birth of her first baby. 
She has a face, and, I believe, she once had a figure, to 
command attention anywhere, but the beauty of the latter 
has quite vanished at twenty years of age. Sitting in the 
verandah, I saw the girl come out of her husband's ram- 



FANTEE SKILL LN MEDICINE. 



181 



shackle old house, a blaze, a galaxy, almost an " ovation " 
1 faith, of gold and silk and aggry beads. With Mrs. Selby's 
permission^ I beckoned her into the house, to examine these 
treasures at leisure. Very handsome they were. She had 
an immense comb of °;old in her wool — this decked out 
smooth and turned up like a horse-hair cushion. Four or 
five gold butterflies very gracefully shaped in filagree, adorned 
the front of her head. Round the neck she wore five gold 
chains, all solid and of great weight. As many bracelets 
fatigued each arm, amongst them three composed of nuggets 
unworkecl, just pierced and strung together. They had a 
very pretty though barbarous effect. No wonder the Ashan- 
tees are eager to take Cape Coast Castle ; it would be a loot 
indeed. 

I hear extraordinary reports of the skill Eantees possess in 
medicine. All those white people who have lived long 
amongst them have confidence in their remedies. But it is 
a great responsibility a man takes on himself to use them 
upon a friend when ill. A maxim of doctors, in African 
fever, is that delirium or coma must be fatal. But the native 
herbalists admit no such necessity, and prove themselves 

correct. When poor , Mr. Selby's clerk, had fallen into 

the last hopeless stage, a woman of the country offered to cure 
him ; nor does Selby much doubt that she would have done 
so. Bat with what face could he have written the poor lad's 
parents, if the trial failed ? Here is the difficulty. I know 
that several of the military doctors tried to procure these 



182 



A PA USE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



medicines, especially that alleged to be so powerful in dy- 
sentery. Governor Pine was saved by the use of it, when 
utterly abandoned of European science. But they failed. 
Most of the remedies are for outward application. A very 
simple one, used in headache, is applied to the eyes and fore- 
head. Fantees also are alleged to possess a hair- dye of ex- 
traordinary virtue. It has the effect of restoring hair to its 
natural colour for a space of twenty-four hours. A gentle- 
man of Elmina assures me that the silver grey of his locks is 
produced by the daily application of this liquid. They are 
snow white each morning. He did not begin to use it until 
his hair was already grey, or it would daily return to its 
natural black. 

On December 1st, Sir Garnet, Commodore Hewitt, V.C., 
and Major Baker, left for a tour round the outposts. They 
will pass over all the ground I lately traversed, examining the 
sites of camp, and thoroughly overhauling the arrangments 
for forwarding stores. Yesterday, twenty " special service " 
officers landed, and the correspondent of the 'Illustrated 
London News/ On the 3rd arrived the homeward mail, 
under charge of the first officer ; captain and purser dead of 
yellow fever. Captain Thompson, of the Queen's Bays, 
superintendent of police here, returned from a cruise. He 
gives an extraordinary account of the state of things at 
Axim. That wretched fort is blockaded by Ashantees or 
their allies. The bush comes up to the castle wall, and it is 
thick with enemies. If one puts one's head through a window 



ANECDOTE OF HAMMOCK-MEN. 183 



it is instantly saluted by a charge of slugs. Several sentries 
have been shot. Mr. Goldsworthy, the commandant, has 
nothing to eat, except salt pork and biscuit — not too much of 
that. He is about to be transferred to Elnrina, and Captain 
Helden, of that post, will take his place. It's quite evident 
that unless we bum Coomassie, this coast will soon be too 
hot for us. Captain Thompson is ordered home immediately. 
Filliter, 2nd W.I., Eyre, Wood's regiment, Gordon, 93rd, 
Paget, S.F.G., all came in with fever yesterday. 

On the 7th arrived our railway, aboard the ( Joseph Dodd.' 
I have already explained how impracticable it would be to lay 
the line, or even a mile of it, within the time at our disposal. 
Sir Garnet takes on himself the entire blame of this expen- 
sive mistake, so far as the public service is concerned, but he 
bitterly complains of those advisers who so deceived him. 
The railway will not be landed. Sub-Lieutenant Filliter tells 
me an amusing story. Passing through Akroful, he halted 
for a chat at the Mission House or fort, whilst his hammock- 
men dispersed to buy kenki. It chanced, at the same time, 
that the headmen of a convoy were out in the town, under 
orders not to return without bringing certain subordinate 
headmen who had deserted. These latter were known to be 
loafing about, but the pursuers, instead of looking for them, 
preferred to pounce upon any strangers they could find, 
knowing the officer could not identify a negro. Thus it befell 
that when Mr. Filliter sallied out impatiently to see what his 
bearers could be about, the last of them was just being cast 



A PA USE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



loose after "two dozen." Great indignation on his part, 
screams and counter screams, fury and fear on part of natives* 
In the end, to save time, all the headmen are tied up at once, 
and the bearers distributed amongst them, each with a bundle 
of bamboos. I expect those headmen will be careful for the 
future how they seize miscellaneous strangers on a false 
charge, lest, perchance, there be a hammock-man amongst 
them. 

At 5.30 one morning I started for Elmina. Until these 
troubles began there was a broad road between the rival 
towns, but that is all grown up. Only a brickbat here or 
there, and little conduits bridging the frequent streams, tell 
that this differs from any other bush path well worn. Always, 
on either side, is the scrubby thicket, common round Cape 
Coast, when land has often been cleared for cultivation. No 
doubt there is much planting in the neighbourhood, which the 
thicket masks, but, for all that can be seen, one might as well 
expect to find subsistence in the forest round Mansu. About 
three miles from Elmina the landscape changes. No canvas 
of Turner's maddest, whereon a vaporous sea mixes with 
molten sky, where earth has a purple glow, and rainbows 
lean against a castle wall — none of those pictures which 
conscientious people sit solidly down to stare at, comes near 
the scene I actually behold. The wood clears all away. 
Relieved of this green mantle, a rugged soil displays itself in 
stony dells, and rocks too thinly clad in soil for aught but 
juniper to spring there. Away to the right, sloping down 



VISIT TO ELMINA. 



from the seawall, wide plains of grass extend to the horizon, 
green in the foreground; purple with seed tassels — hazy, soft, 
and: fairy-like — in distance. There is no life, no signs of any, 
by the reed-grown ponds which dot the plain. Flocks of 
small birds, brilliant of plumage and exquisite of song, flit 
from copse to copse of guava and dwarf palm. Away to the 
distance in front are houses and forest. On my left circles 
the endless sweep of restless billows climbing ever to the 
land, tossing upon it madly with scream and roar eternal. 
Out in the sea, apparently, as one follows the line of surf, 
stands a fairy castle, snow-white, immense, fantastic of form. 
Upon a web of rainbows is it founded. Gates it has of opal 
and sapphire ; no shadow but is golden. Its turrets are 
moulded air, changing in shape and colour even whilst one 
looks entranced. Surely of hues like this is the City of the 
Blest ! Here, in our very sight, the walls of jacinth, and the 
great gates of opal ! Seated on rainbows, crowned with a 
sunbeam visible — thus did I first behold Elmina ! It was a 
vision, a glory, so incredible, I stood amazed. This sight in 
the mid coast of Africa ! A transfiguration indeed ; for, on ap- 
proach, the hues of heaven resolved themselves into spray and 
vapour; the fairy castle chilled and chilled to lines of most 
prosaic stone, mildewed and blackened. A stately building, 
indeed, is the fort of Elmina, but no more resembling the 
vision I had seen than is the Venice we all know like Turner's 
dream thereof. I approached it with awe; I left it with 
contempt. 



A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



Captain Heldeu was the commandant, though scarcely yet 
recovered of wounds received in the disastrous survey of the 
Prah. I knew this excellent officer long ago, when he and I 
came back together from the West Indies, that time all the 
world went mad about Governor Eyre. Traversing a town 
which greatly reminded me of Dutch settlements in the east, 
I came to the broad canals and embankments which are the 
pride of Elmina. Trees are loftier and more shady here than 
at Cape Coast ; stores more numerous, larger, and of better 
class. Easy to see, by the numbers of " coloured " people 
abroad, that a different system of civilisation has prevailed 
here. I saw at least half-a-dozen boys and girls playing 
round, in native undress, who had fair hair, blue eyes, and 
skin as white as mine, barring the golden hue of sunshine, 
Turning the corner of a house abruptly, I even caught sight 
of a girl, fifteen years old at least, costumed only in the 
" cloth," whose golden hair would have procured her admit- 
tance to the most exclusive assembly of Havannah. The 
Dutch still pursue that system which we long practised in 
India. They encourage connections between their officers 
and the native women, believing that by such means they 
secure an invaluable army of informers, and, in addition, 
gradually raise a class more intelligent and devoted to their 
interests. English morality will not endure " miscegenation," 
as alone it can be practised, nor do I in the least mean to 
infer that the Dutch method is the best. Beyond any doubt 
:at all, Africans consider it a degradation on the white man's 



THE CASTLE AT ELMINA. 



187 



part to mix his blood with theirs. Not by the negro undefiled 
was ever the claim of brotherhood propounded. On the con- 
trary, he grants to the white man honours more than his due, 
and would regard it as little less than blasphemous to arrogate 
equality with him. But the Dutch fashion secures an imme- 
diate return of safety and prosperity beyond the hope of our 
dignified system ; and immediate return, gained by whatever 
means, is the aim of Holland's colonisation. It is quite 
certain that the Elmina people, though Fantees, show them- 
selves vastly higher in courage, intelligence, and spirit, than 
their brethren of Cape Coast. 

The castle of this place is a building only to be compared 
with its rival. It stands on a rock, projecting into the sea, 
which defends one half the circuit. The right flank is pro- 
tected by the embankment and river I have spoken of. In 
front is a ditch of great depth, most solidly excavated, covered 
at bottom by the velvet rosettes oipistia stratiotes. Until this 
war, the king's, or Ashantee quarter of the town, came right 
up to the ditch, masking the castle guns ; but the broad space 
thus occupied is now a mass of ruins uninhabitable. Scarcely 
a wall is standing over two feet high, so thorough has been 
the destruction. It will be remembered that at the battle of 
Elmina, the Ashantees had actually taken possession of the 
town, Amanquattiah establishing himself in the best house, 
that of Mr. Bartels, with his chiefs around him. Meanwhile, 
Colonel Festing landed his marines, and Lieutenant Wells 
took charge of the seamen hastily sent ashore from the ' Barra- 



i88 



A PA USE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



couta/ The Asliantees were roused from their dream of victory 
by the guns of the castle bombarding and destroying the dis- 
loyal quarter. Mr. Bartels informs me that Amanquattiah 
made an undignified escape at this sudden summons, leaping 
through a window. The Ashantees and their sympathisers 
withdrew to the plains outside the town, where, amongst walls 
and bushes, they showed excellent fight. Lieutenant Wells, 
meanwhile, received orders to re-embark. Loth to do this, 
he went to Captain Eremantle, on the scene of action, asking 
orders about the boats. Coming back, his men were marching 
the length of a wall, behind which they heard firing suspiciously 
near. Looking over, they saw a great force of Ashantees in 
front, actively engaged. Mr. Wells took on himself the re- 
sponsibility of attack. He drew his men quietly round on 
the flank, and opened fire, with the triumphant result we 
know. It was indeed a massacre that ensued, and the day of 
Elmina, which the Ashantees call by another name, henceforth 
took place amongst their oaths beside that of Cormantin already 
spoken of. 

I found Captain Helden making out passes for women to 
trade. All intercourse of the sort has been properly forbidden 
since the disloyalty of Elmina was thoroughly proved. Now 
that the Ashantees have withdrawn beyond reach, there cau be 
no objection to their peddling, nor to free communication with 
neighbouring villages. The prohibition is therefore with- 
drawn. 

A day of personal observation convinces me that the post of 



CAPTAIN HELDEN. 



Commandant in an African fort, requires every virtue, and 
most of the acquirements, within human reach. Soldier and 
lawyer, with a dash of divinity, he must always be, but the 
present crisis demands more varied accomplishments. A dis- 
play of practical medicine is required, an acquaintance with 
the learned tongues as abused in the Dutch code, an accurate 
knowledge of international law, a power of the readiest and 
most complicated reckoning, an indefatigable capacity for 
discerning falsehood, and a gift of thriving on Australian beef. 
Add to these all the virtues : — Temperance, soberness, and 
chastity, faith, hope, and charity, patience, perseverance, and 
sudden death. I am bound to say that my friend Helden 
greatly distinguished himself in all these qualities and acquire- 
ments under my very sight on that day, December 8th, when 
I had opportunity of observing his manoeuvres therein. All 
the eight hours was one round of work most stupid, trouble- 
some, and contemptible. So far as I could see, every soul 
approached the Commandant with a lie in his or her mouth. 
Most notable and amusing amongst the crew were three 
merchant sailors, detained in gaol for the crime of desertion. 
They had ' ' borrowed " a boat at Cape Coast, and come here, 
without leave of their captain. Tried and convicted, they, of 
course, had to go to gaol ; but henceforward the aim of exist- 
ence with them was to make the Commandant's life a thing 
unbearable. Now they refused to work, and now they refused 
to stop working. One of them could write, and he abused 
this accomplishment to the utmost. Their appearance to- 



190 



A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



day before that miserable person who was called their ruler, 
arose, lstly, from their refusal to work; 2ndly, from their 
refusal to eat ; 3rdly, from a letter of complaints issued by 
them ; 4thly, from a mysterious promise of confession anent 
some matter unknown ; 5thly, from an affidavit, mostly 
solemnly and drolly sworn before each other, touching the 
facts of their voyage. On these accounts, they paraded at the 
castle after breakfast, clad in their prison uniform of cotton, 
marked " Gaol " on breast and back. Hulking fellows were 
they, white elephants of the most uncomfortable breed to their 
negro gaolers. Their affidavit came to the fact that they 
had shipped aboard the ' Kentish Lass/ which carried nearly 
100 cases of rifles, revolvers, and ammunition thereto pertain- 
ing. She brought them to Grand Bassam, where the brig 
1 Dromo/ same owners, transhipped the cases and carried them 
to leeward. The burden of this affidavit, of course, is a charge 
against some English firm of supplying the Ashantees with 
arms ; I know nothing more of it than is here set down. 
The affidavit was duly forwarded to the judge at Cape Coast 
Castle. 

An interesting day I had at Elmina. Captain Helden is a 
man who acquires and gathers much wherever he be stationed, 
and his position had offered him unusual facilities in this place. 
He gave me valuable information about slavery and the 
slave trade — the way these things actually work. Everyone in 
England now knows that there is a corner of our empire where 
the Union Jack does not confer the boon of universal freedom. 



SLAVE QUESTIONS. 



191 



But residents in Cape Coast are apt to grow restive under im- 
putation of slave holding. They point out certain distinctions, 
and even differences, which are relied up to clear their practice 
from the stigma. I don't undervalue these points, but one- 
may believe them equally weighty wherever a savage and 
simple race holds another in subjection. It is alleged that 
the interior slave trade scarcely influences Cape Coast ; that 
the number of slaves purchased from other tribes is very small. 
This assertion would not easily be verified, but if the propor- 
tion be so trifling, it is curious that I should have found two 
slaves of the interior amongst my people. One of them, 
Yampon, the best negro I ever saw — not at all good, but the 
best— had his cheeks and temples all scored in tiny scars, as 
if by the dragging of a tooth-comb over the surface. He told 
me that this tribe-mark belongs, as he is informed, to the 
Moysies, a nation dwelling far inland, beyond the Ashantees. 
He had been brought thence when too young to remember 
anything, and was sold in Coomassie market-place. The 
other case was that of a woman, light-coloured, with small 
and delicate features, but ruined in figure, who bore rosettes of 
scars on each shoulder blade, on back and neck, and on each 
breast, I could not learn what country these marks indicated, 
but it was one very distant. However, putting these cases by 
as mere accident, I conceive it no sound plea that the number 
of interior slaves be small. Their existence, in any quantity, 
is proof of a genuine slave trade. But let us look at the state 
of things confessed. A man gets into debt to a certain 



192 



A PA USE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



amount ; he cannot pay either interest or principal. One of 
his children is valued for the latter, and formally passes into 
slavery. So much for the capital indebted. But the interest 
goes on accumulating at the rate of fifty to a hundred and 
fifty per cent, per annum. Another of his children passes 
under that charge ; and then another, and another, till wife 
and husband, with all the family, are slaves. It is merely 
trifling with the question to say that they are lightly worked. 
They are so, indeed, but for the reason that in such a state of 
society all work is light and lazy. No one ventures to allege 
that any bounds exist to the power of the master. He might 
set his slaves to the hardest toil, and be sure he would do so 
if only he knew enough to make their labour profitable, and 
had spirit to supervise it. Just as much may be said for 
slavery in the East, where it rests on no fiction of pawning. 
There is not, by native law, any punishment for the death or 
mutilation of a slave; by English law there is, and I am 
willing to believe that such cases are very rare. But the entire 
despotism of the master is fully shown by his rights over a 
female " pawn." He is at liberty to make a concubine of her, 
and the children born are slaves. More than this, if the 
father-pawn, or, it may be, the husband-pawn, desires to free 
such concubine, he cannot take away her children except on 
payment to the owner of a certain sum per child. Needless 
to say that a pawned family is never redeemed, though any 
active young man may work out .his freedom. 

The other side of the question is this. A slave becomes a 



MALTREATMENT OF SLA FES. 



193 



member of the household, and frequently proves the most 
powerful person therein. The master is responsible for his 
debts, even those incurred, for buying a wife. He must keep 
him in sickness and idleness. If the slave commit a crime, 
or get engaged in a "palaver," the master must clear him. 
So entire is the slave's absorption into the master's family 
that, on failure of natural heirs, the principal slave succeeds 
to the property. The law of inheritance in Africa is curious, 
but not without example. A son has no claim, nor a 
daughter. Property descends by the collateral branch, a 
man's eldest nephew on the sister's side inheriting. When a 
man has no sisters, or sisters childless, the principal slave 
becomes his heir, to the exclusion of his children. But of 
this rule also there is example amongst the Malays. 

As to the ill-treatment of slaves, it behoves a conscientious 
writer to speak cautiously. He will find very different 
reports. But Captain Helden, in our long talk on the sub- 
ject, assured me he had traced and caused to be produced in 
court various implements of torture whereof runaway slaves 
complained. And in a case like this, where evidence is so 
difficult to get, and so unreliable when found, the common 
laws of human nature may properly be cited. It would take 
very clear proof to convince me that a greater or less propor- 
tion of the Fantees are not occasionally tempted to maltreat 
their slaves. 

A clerk in the court here named Hughes was caught by the 
Ashantees a short time ago near Dunquah. He swore by 

o 



194 



A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



Cormantin twice, without visible effect of softening their un- 
pleasant resolve to cut his head off. Roused to despair by the 
odious preparations visible, he volubly swore by the late 
disaster of Elmina, and escaped. The Ashantees, therefore, 
don't always respect their oaths — not, at least, in the mouth 
of an enemy. Hughes confirms it to me that the Fantees do 
not call their children by the name of the day of birth, but 
by a name sacred and devoted to that day ; thus, Koffee does 
not mean Friday, but all children born on Friday are called 
Koffee ; so with the other days of the week. 

Great excitement is just now pending in Elmina, on account 
of various charges against the police. It is alleged on several 
hands that they completed the sack and pillage begun by 
the Ashantees. I read several affidavits setting forth these 
charges against one or other members of the force. Most 
coolly and systematically the work of plunder was carried on 
if there be truth in these statements. 

Dec. 12th, The 'Himalaya' lies at anchor in the roads, with 
the 2nd battalion of the Rifles on board, together with sixty 
men of the Royal Engineers, and the c Tamar 3 has just come 
in with 640 men of the 23rd regiment. The home government 
has acted with extraordinary promptitude, and the praises of 
Mr. Cardwell are on every tongue. The story goes that he sat 
up all night in consultation with the war office authorities. 
Immediately on receipt of Sir Garnet's first despatch, a cabinet 
council assembled, and all the measures suggested were put in 
hand at once. One example of the energy of late infused 



ARRIVAL OF TROOP-SHIPS. 195 

into the War Office may be mentioned. With his despatch, 
Sir Garnet forwarded the surveys and tracings already made by 
his topographical staff. These surveys were collected, litho- 
graphed, printed off, and sent on board the c Himalaya ' within 
thirty-two hours. The unapproachable Prussians could not 
have been more rapid than our authorities in this case. It is 
unfortunate, however, that our preparations to receive the 
white troops have not been carried on with the speed expected, 
or, to put the matter in a more honourable light, our success 
has been more thorough than could be hoped. The road is 
open only as far as Yancoomassie Assin, a place by no means 
to be confounded with the nearer Yancoomassie. It is still 
twenty miles short of the Prah. But, on the other hand, we 
had every reason to expect that the Ashantees would make a 
great stand about this very point. In fact, they evidently 
intended doing so ; but Amanquattialr's old troops had had 
enough of it. Sir Garnet is not to be accused of miscalcula- 
tion because the 'Himalaya' and the 'Tamar' have to be sent 
off for a holiday cruise of three weeks. On the contrary, this 
fact shows how well he has employed his time and the 
insufficient means ready to his hand. For — the coin- 
cidence is curious — on the very day that the white troops 
were signalled, authentic news came down of the Ashantee 
flight. There is no doubt at all about it, they have re- 
crossed the Prah with desperate haste. It seems that the 
king duly sent reinforcements, of which the numbers are 
variously reported between 5000 men and 600. It is pro- 

o2 



196 



A PA USE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



bable they were from 1000 to 1500. With them came am- 
munition in plenty, and provisions, and secret orders to the 
General. These fresh men were the assailants of Col. Wood, 
who fought and pursued him with all the former pluck of the 
" invincible Ashantee." The older campaigners flatly refused 
to fight, and took advantage of the engagement to pack up 
their goods. They would not even wait for morning, but 
pursued their retreat by torchlight ; scouts sent after found 
the extinguished brands by the road-side. The success just 
achieved does not seem to have encouraged them a bit. The 
march did not cease until they struck the Prah at the old ford, 
which was crossed by felling trees on either bank, and thus 
forming a bridge. The report is that they lost 300 men in 
crossing. Col. Wood sent a party after them, taking the pre- 
caution to attach to it a couple of West Indians who could 
not speak a word of Fantee ; thus he secured himself against 
a made-up tale. They followed the track of the invaders to 
the very bank, and thoroughly explored it for two miles up 
and down. The Prah at this point is sixty to seventy feet 
wide, very swift and deep. The bush, we are rejoiced to 
learn, is of the same character as that beyond Mansu. The 
West Indians report that lemon-trees, oranges, and " plum- 
trees " abound. They entered the river thigh deep, and fired 
into the other bank, without reply, so that it would appear 
the Ashantees have pursued their march beyond the river. 
For this act of pluck the General has sent them £2 apiece. 
Our whites will not be needed, therefore, on this side the 



CAPTAIN BULLERS VISIT, 



197 



Prah, and we can cut the road, and build the camps for them, 
in peace. In consequence, the ' Himalaya 3 and the ' Tamar/ 
which arrived to-day, will put to sea again, without landing 
their men, for three weeks* yachting. 

Sir Garnet and Commodore Hewitt, V.C., had not returned 
from their trip inland, but on receipt of a despatch from Capt. 
Brackenbury they hastened back. They met some of the officers 
newly arrived strolling at midday on the road, " towards Coo- 
massie," as they called it, and the General gave them a good- 
humoured wigging for exposing themselves. This is a lesson, 
however, which teaches itself very rapidly. Capt. Glover 
has left Addah for his invasion of the Awoonah country, 
but we have no late news. 

Dec. \§th. On the 14th, Capt. Buller returned from the 
Prah, having actually stood upon the bank of that famous 
river. No sign of Ashantees on either side, and two scouts 
sent over profess to have gone a mile inland without seeing 
a trace of camp. It is a lovely country, and the bush much 
thinner. The 42nd regiment is expected on the 20th inst. 
H.M.S. c Amethyst ' sailed for Ascension yesterday with 
invalids, amongst whom was Captain Thompson, Queen's 
Bays, who is suffering from overwork. 

This night I woke up with a consciousness of some strange 
feeling in the head. Jumping up, it appeared I could not 
see, my eyes being closed and my face double its proper 
size. Dr. MacNalty, who is appointed surgeon to the staff, 
Teduced the swelling in two or three days, but he had no 



A PA USE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



suggestion to offer about its cause. Captain Baker, brother 
to the Major of that name, is gazetted to poor Captain 
Thompson's position as inspector of police. On the 17th I 
went to his office, seeking a rifle for my " boy " Yarbro, and 
there beheld a review of the Ashantee prisoners. There were 
at this time 73 of them, besides a chief or two who occupied 
lodgings in a coal cellar at the castle. The dearth of carriers 
has become so serious that even these 73 cripples are 
requisitioned. On the 12th Sir Garnet himself went to 
Beulah, to raise labourers, but he had small success. The 
prisoners were ranged in a double line across the police-yard, 
and underwent inspection. Never were seen more miserable 
objects. Every form of disease to be produced by want, 
fatigue, and unwholesome diet had its specimens there. The 
frame of these men seemed to me much less muscular 
than that of the Fantees, but they were too far gone in 
misery for fair comparison. It had only been suggested 
that they should carry light loads as far as Inquabim, the 
first camp; but twenty-three of the number were pronounced 
unequal to this effort. The king of Abrakrampa is dead of 
smallpox. 

On the 18th I started for the Prah, at 6.15 a.m. Reached 
that weary old halting-place, Asseyboo, at 9.30. The police 
are withdrawn from the road, and search is given up. 

Akroful, 11.45. This is the second camp for our white 
troops' march, and the huts were nearly complete already. 
I found here Dr. Samuels and Mr. Commissary Bowring 



FIGHT WITH A TARANTUIA . 



dwelling alone in a native house. The mission-house was in 
course of repair. Dr. Samuels showed me the spolia opima of 
a large tarantula, slain by him in single combat. This was one 
of the briskest actions of the war. Imagine the doctor reading 
on his bed — reading, it may be of England, home, and 
beauty. Picture him listlessly rolling over, in search of a 
more comfortable position. What a start is there, my 
countrymen ! What a pause of dread incredulity as he 
stares aloft at a ghastly reptile, creeping, creeping down the 
wall ! What a leap is that from bed to door, and how 
agonised the tones which summon " Boy ! " Hastily comes 
the boy, wrapping his ungirt cloth around his loins. One 
glance he throws through the open door, one scream of dread 
he utters — and with one bound he flies the scene. Doctor 
shouts after him in vain. There is no help in man. Alone, 
in night gear, he must confront this awful foe. Doctor rises 
to the occasion. He snatches his sword, draws it, advances ! 
The tarantula, meanwhile, poised on his hinder legs, surveys 
his victim cruelly, seeking the weakest spot. A lunge, a 
retreat, pursuit, cut, point, fury, and scrimmage ! After 
desperate rallies, there is a pause, whilst man and spider 
take breath, and observe results. Three legs lie on the 
floor, and gratefully the Doctor notes that none of his own 
are missing. Three legs he picks up carefully and deposits 
in a portmanteau, whilst tarantula looks on with baffled 
fury. Time ! Another rush, cut and thrust, high and 
low, on wall and floor and bed, out at door, back to the 



200 A PAUSE W THE CAMPAIGN. 

corner, hurrah, hullabaloo, and faugh a ballagh ! A second 
pause — Doctor picks up another leg, and again remarks 
with pride that it is not his own. This trophy he puts in 
a rice box. The enemy grows feeble, and appears to miss 
some parts of his anatomy ! Once again the battle joins, 
more desperate, more deadly. Victory ! The foe's huge 
head is severed, and thrown in triumph into a bucket. 

" Such was the scene ! What now remaineth here, 
What sacred trophy marks the hallowed ground, 
Recording " 

A doctor's prowess and a spider's fate ? The very legs 
in question were produced for my scrutiny from that self 
same portmanteau, and the identical head, still scowling from 
the identical bucket. 

But your tarantula is indeed a fearful wild fowl. Call him 
and class him amongst spiders, if you please, but he is most 
like a devil. I myself killed one in Cape Coast, quite a 
small demonkin, but too large to stand in a saucer. The 
full-grown monster stretches about the width of a breakfast 
plate. He has fur all over him, soft, and delicately mottled in 
brown and black and stone colour. Legs about as thick as 
a straw, furry and mottled like his body, ending in broad 
suckers, wherewith he takes a death grasp. On the under 
side huge red nippers, such as would doubtless tear out a 
piece of flesh. When this foul brute gets hold, it is necessary 
to cut his legs off with scissors, so firm is the grasp of his paws 
and jaw. The bite is very poisonous. Fantees have a dread 



OTHER SPIDERS. 



20I 



beyond words for the tarantula. They believe he can spring 
a great distance, and has the malignity to use his power with 
or without provocation. I do not know whether this is true, 
but the structure of his paws leads one to doubt ; — suckers 
are not convenient for springing. He certainly has no fear 
of man, putting up his great forelegs like a mantis, when 
threatened with a stick ; — this I guarantee, for myself have 
seen it. The tarantula does not love houses, for which 
Heaven be thanked. If he did, neither white man nor negro 
would venture to live in his country. He dwells in the forest, 
where, without web or cave, he forages for food. I should 
conceive that birds and lizards would be his favourite game. 
I heard of three seen during our expedition. The one I 
killed, which is possessed by Mr. Com. Ravenscroft ; this at 
Akroful ; and another, which Mr. Hart discovered on his bed 
at Essiaman. With what object the monster was creeping 
down to our Doctor's face is not to be known. The Fantees 
declared that it came to fasten on him, and suck his blood, 
but no one believes Fantee reports. 

There is another large spider very common in the woods. 
This has a black body, hairless, handsomely barred with 
yellow. He spins a great web, in the centre of which hangs 
his carcass like a cluster of wasps. This kind is harmless, 
and you will often see the children carrying one on a stick, 
tied by his leg. A species much more curious, and one, I 
believe, unknown to arachneologists, dwells beyond the Prah. 
I think him a stranger to Fantee land, because our servants 



202 



A PA USE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



and soldiers were as much interested and struck with hi& 
beauty as were we. None of my own attendants had seen one 
before. He was generally supposed to be a land crab, to which 
reptile he bears the closest outward resemblance. His shell 
is about an inch across, by half an inch in length, of the love- 
liest and most delicate yellow, scalloped at the edges, 
where occurs a dainty moulding of blue. There never was- 
a land crab so tastefully coloured and marked, though some 
of them carry shells very richly painted. But on turning the 
creature over, his alliance with the spiders is evident. Under 
the beautiful shell, protected by it on all sides, so that not even 
a claw projects beyond the cover, is the body and head of a 
true arachne, smooth, and of a dark red colour. The spider 
is attached to his shell by the thorax and back of abdomen, 
just as are the cryptopod crabs. It is manifest that he makes 
no web. I only succeeded in catching one of these insects, 
and him I lost, but several were brought home. Captain 
Grant, 2nd W.T., has a handsome specimen. 

Dunquah, 2.50 p.m., in which camp, once so crowded, I 
found but a single stranger, Lieut. Winter, 33rd Regiment. 
The Gatling which has come up thus far refuses to " traverse," 
and it is found we must leave it behind. We sat late round a 
single lantern, placed upon the earth, making the darkness 
so thick it seemed to be a pall hung round. There is again 
a block of stores at this place, and no shelter for them. 
As to the redoubt, it is crumbling to pieces day by day. 

19th. Men all late. They complain that one of their 



ROADSIDE CAMPS. 



number is not able to do his work. The poor fellow has a 
wound in the leg, gallantly earned in fighting the Ashantee ; 
— at least, we'll hope it was earned gallantly, as there is no 
evidence against that charitable view. I engaged a slave in his 
place, the ugliest of all my ugly crew. It afterwards turned 
out that this fellow was under bond to Mr. Selby, who had 
engaged him from his master for twelve months. When the 
war broke out, the owner thought he could do better with his 
slave, and brought him hither. Yancoomassie Fantee is now 
a fine camp, witli^ eight large huts, able to quarter 100 men 
each. What a change of scene is here since that night when 
Wood's regiment took shelter from the rain, and I shared a 
hut of palm-leaves with Lieutenant Richmond ! Overtook. 
Captain Buckle, R.E., here, who had halted to dress his leg. 
Many officers are suffering from boils. During the process of 
breakfast, in a village without a name, I watched the people 
going past, Fantees, of course, and mostly women. Nearly 
all smoked, young and old. But their consumption of tobacco 
makes no serious item in the revenue. One pipeful will last 
a man all day, though he is always lighting up and puffing. 
His manner is to ram a half-inch plug into the bowl, so tight 
it will neither draw nor burn. Twenty pieces of charcoal will 
blacken and die out before this ration is consumed. The 
quantity of deformed persons passing along the road really 
surprises one. It would seem that half the negroes of the coast 
have either guinea worm, string halt, or some other misery. 
The former complaint is so common, one ceases to notice it. 



204 



A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



One woman in every four appears to be afflicted, and men and 
women alike have scars all over them. The absence of cloth- 
ing shows every thing of this sort. By the bye, I take it as a 
fact to be clearly proved that the more clothes fashion ordains, 
the more romantic will be courtships, and the more exalted 
men's idea of love. There can be no romance or sentiment 
where there is no mystery. Marriage becomes a most prosaic 
affair with all savages of the Tropic, but I have heard that 
the Esquimaux are not destitute of a tender anxiety about 
their brides. 

Mansu, 1.30 p.m., over a road very wet and rugged. Mr. 
Mann's engineer labourers have not yet done the smoothing 
of it. I found the control officer in charge, Mr. Com. 
Elliot in great rage and distress. Two hundred of his men 
deserted last night. There is a bad system at work. Colonel 
Festing, at Dunquah, has orders to pay a certain sum per 
head for each carrier brought to him by a king. These 
sovereigns are not proof against such palpable temptation. 
They encourage their subjects to desert from Mansu and 
other stations, returning to Dunquah, where they are again 
enlisted. 

20th. Akrofoom, reached in two hours and a half's march 
from Mansu, has all been levelled with the ground. The last 
time I rested under its fig-trees, the business of fortification 
was going on all round. And Major Home, R.E., was filing 
out from the shadow of the forest, wet to his waist, followed 
by the long train of Houssas, whom he had led to attack the 



LIFE WITH CAPTAIN FOWLER. 



enemy, what time Colonel Wood's regiment arrived too late. 
An hour's march brought me to Sutah, the fifth camp. This 
place will always be remembered by those of us who had taste 
for botany; perhaps, in no long time, by thousands of English 
ladies who have not yet heard the name. For, in the swamp 
below this hill, we first saw the Sutah lily, a beautiful flower 
of which many hundred roots have been brought home. It 
greatly resembles that favourite sister from Japan, but its hues 
are vastly more delicate, and its head more graceful. The mud 
round this camp was very deep and sticky. I found there 
Lieutenant Wauchope, 42nd Regiment, a volunteer, who was 
about to be overtaken by his comrades. 

After rest, and a lunch in one of the pretty huts designed 
for officers, I pushed on, reaching Yancoomassie Assin at 
6.30 p.m. Captain Fowler, 2nd W.I., was commandant, and 
a good example had he been setting to commandants upon 
the road. No accumulation of stores at Yancoomassie Assin, 
not a solitary rice box, nor a case of cartridges. It was but 
a day or two since Captain Fowler had been granted a control 
officer in the person of Mr. Marsh. Mr. Commissary 
Ravenscroft was there also, laid up with boils. Likewise, a 
doctor, who possessed but six grains of quinine screwed up in 
paper. There was at this moment a great lack of medical 
stores along the road. No official is to blame for it, nor 
for the lack of food and ammunition ; Fantee cowardice, 
treachery, and laziness were the cause. 

What manner of life is it, you may ask, at these lonely 



206 



A PA USE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



camps in the midst of the forest. I will tell you — it is like 
the life of shipwrecked sailors on a desert island — like 
Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk, the Maroon of Florida 
Keys, or any desperate and Heaven- abandoned wretch whom 
you can think of. This is the scene on which Captain Fowler 
looks from dawn to dewy-eve : a sandy slope, burning white 
in the sun, about an acre in extent ; upon it two rows 
of huts, built each to accommodate two officers, walled of 
bamboo, and thatched with palm-leaves ; at top of the slope 
a mess-hut, open at back and front, with palm-leaf benches 
along a table of box-lids nailed together; next, the military 
huts, eighty feet long and thirty broad, fitted on either side, 
down all their length, with a wide sleeping-bench. At 
bottom of the hill, on the other side the road, stand native 
sheds, built of palm or plantain leaves stretched over four 
sticks. The sun has dried and crumpled them, changing 
their hue to every tint of green and gold and brown. They 
are pitched everywhere, and all about them lounges a crowd 
of negroes, screaming, bargaining, and calling names. Beside 
the road, a very barricade of boxes piled — the burdens 
just laid down, stores destined for the depot at Prahsu. A 
belt of brushwood girds round the sandy oasis, an abbatis of 
trees cut down, already overrun by creeping plants and 
flowers. At eighty yards distance, on every side, towers the 
dark green forest. Over all is a cloudy sky, from which the 
heat pours pitilessly down. That confining wall of forest 
gives one a sense of suffocation ; one longs to escape the 



BARRA CO. 



207 



trees — to see once more an horizon — to watch the sun set, 
yea, even to see him rise. No pleasure has the commandant 
of sport, save only when he scours the bush in search of 
deserters. He grows to look upon himself as a slave of 
Fantee carriers, day and night at their command, the servant 
of servants. His only amusement, rarely to be enjoyed — for 
exacting are these black masters of his — lies in watching the 
small dark aperture of the wood, through which, perchance, 
a comrade bound for the front may show his perspiring face. 
Cordial is then the welcome, and profuse the draughts of tea, 
but after five minutes' gossip he must again attend his despots; 
for verily some of them will have deserved a flogging in that 
interval. 

21st. Starting from Yancoomassie Assin at 7.25 a.m., 
10.30 saw me at Barraco, the next halting-place. It was a 
cloudy morning, and I remarked more signs of life than are 
usual in West Africa. It may be that the Ashantees passed 
\ this thinly peopled district, both in going and returning, too 
quickly to exterminate the life therein. Evidence of their 
great number was abundant. Nearly all the distance to 
Barraco is one long camp. It will be remembered that the 
Ashantees struck into the main road about Sutah, and 
marched to Prahsu by the route of their invasion. We 
could see that many old sheds, built for the use of the 
advancing army, had been lately repaired and re-roofed. 
Others were quite new. I pushed a little way into the bush, 
where signs of the multitude lay thickest, and found more 



208 



A PAUSE IN THE CAMPAIGN. 



huts, more broken pots and worn out baskets, as far as I pro- 
ceeded. The Ashantees did indeed cross the border " in their 
thousands/' and it is still a great host we are pursuing. 

But I would not have the reader think there were such 
numerous tokens of animal life around, even in this favoured 
spot, as you will behold, say, in mid Atlantic or the populous 
slopes of the Sahara. I only heard more noise than usual in 
the bush, and am not a bit prepared to assert that it came 
from animals at all. There were a good many birds about, 
mostly parrots, in the first hour of the march. Grasshoppers 
abounded, which proves how hastily the Ashantees had passed 
by. The chase of the sportive grasshopper furnishes a liveli- 
hood to many deserving families of the West African stock, 
and it is followed by all classes with enthusiasm. Mantides 
were common, but I noticed none of unusual type. In fact, 
let me repeat here what has been said before, — I saw no 
living creature in all my journeys, barring a snake at Dunquah. 
The road becomes much drier as you approach Barraco, where • 
I found UusselPs regiment stationed. Lieutenant Gordon, 
98th, has received well-earned promotion for gallantry and 
excellent service. Sir Garnet acquainted him ;with this re- 
ward in a letter most gratifying to Mr. Gordon and to all his 
friends. His new regiment is the 84th. 

At Barraco is a burial place of the Assins, into whose 
country we have now advanced. This people originally dwelt 
on the other side the Prah, under the sovereignty of the 
Ashantees. They moved across the river to escape the bloody 



NATIVE BURIAL PLACES. 



tribute exacted by their masters, and took up new seats 
between the river and Mansu. The Assins belong to the 
same ethnological family as the Fantees and Ashantees, with 
either of whom they can converse. The territory abandoned 
by them north of the Prah has never been repeopled, but still 
remains a waste, or no-man's-land, protecting the true frontier 
of Ashantee. I saw no other burial place, except the desolate 
marsh by Salt Pond, at Cape Coast Castle, and the forest 
cemetery of Akankuarsi, in Ashantee. There were no marks 
to distinguish the graves, except a few bits of common pottery. 
At Cape Coast, the memorial of a dead Fantee consists of a 
vessel designed in the Staffordshire potteries for no such 
public exhibition — a vessel without a name. It is the custom 
of all these people to bury their dead under the soil of their 
dwelling-rooms, nor do I know under what circumstances this 
rule is violated. Such golden ornaments as the family can 
afford are ostentatiously interred with the dead, to be dug up, 
when need arises, with no ostentation at all. The Ashantees 
had evidently plundered a large proportion of these Assin 
graves. The forest was thickly set with holes and pitfalls, 
whilst skulls and bones lay everywhere around. 

The road from Barraco to the Prah is drier and better 
opened, perhaps by the multitude of Ashantees lately passing 
it. Starting at 11.15 a.m., I reached the furthest camp 2.50 
p.m., and beheld the sacred river, the Bossom Prah, rolling 
its brown stream seawards. 



F 



210 



CHAPTEE VII. 

ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PR AH. 

A Run across the River — My Cannibal Crew — Lieut. Grant and the Scouts — 
Contrast between the Opposite Banks — A Busy Camp — Preparing for 
the White Troops — Remains of the Redoubt built in 1863 — The River 
Prah — An Ashantee Bridge — Loss of Life — Grhastly Sights — Quantity of 
Canoes — The Suspension Bridge — Numbers of the Enemy — Wood's 
Regiment — Intended Movements — A Strange Night Scene — Electric Fish 
— Droll Compliment to Russell's Regiment — Night March — Lieutenant 
Knox, RA. — Lieutenant Mann, R.E. — The Officers Attached to Captain 
Butler — Colonel Colley — Captain Grlover's Movements Announced — My 
Bearers Bolt — Touching Scene on the Road — Kola Nuts — Christmas 
Day in Cape Coast Castle — Departure jf Sir G-arnet and Staff, with the 
Naval Brigade, for Coomassie — Attack on Chamah— Wailing of the 
Women — New Faces — Death of Mr. Charteris and Lieutenant Wells, 
R.N. — Memorandum for the Gruidance of the Troops — Arrival of 1st 
W.I. Regiment — Their Absurd Uniform — The Gatling Returns — Death 
of Captain Townsend — Complaints of the Women Carriers — Astonishing 
Loyalty of Elmina — Landing of the Rifles — Interruption of the Tele- 
graph — Wholesale Desertion of Fantees — Rumours from Ashantee — 
Captain Butler's Proceedings. 

Prahsu-Ashantee, December 21, 1873. 
This heading is no mistake, nor hallucination of fever. I am 
writing under a cotton tree of giddy height, seeded and grown 



LIEUT. GRANT AND THE SCOUTS. 



211 



in Ashantee. My desk is a buttress curiously pierced at the 
ground level. Alongside runs the path by which our savage 
enemy retired to their own country. Their tumultuous 
march has levelled the brushwood for yards around, and the 
chequered sunlight falls upon a foot-deep carpet of brown 
leaves. The rushing ripple of the Prah, over which six 
Bonny cannibals have just paddled me, with many a shout and 
shriek, has died upon the ear. It is still as death under the 
canopy of leaves. The evening sunshine drips through like 
molten gold, falling from bough to bough. Every tint of 
green a skilful artist could compound is seen in the foliage 
overhead ; but the prevailing hue is deep, rich, and metallic, 
only to be matched, I think, in that much-decried pigment 
verdigris. All about, in little nooks of forest, almost 
smothered with tall reeds, lie ruined shanties of the enemy. 
But of his corporeal presence not a trace has yet been found. 
He has vanished, leaving plenty of rack behind. Lieutenant 
Grant, 6th regiment, who may boast in future years of 
having first crossed the dreaded river — for I am but the 
second to cross — has followed the track as far as the next 
village. The scouts under his command, encouraged by 
witnessing such cool resolution, declare themselves to have 
gone six miles inland. On the road, at least, and in its 
immediate neighbourhood, there are no Ashantees, nor signs 
of any. The villages are abandoned, except by the dead, who 
lie all about on the river bank, in the bush, and under the sheds 
of leaves. A report is current which, if true, will account for 

p2 



212 ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PR AH. 



this hasty retreat. I heard a fortnight since, from the natives 
of Cape Coast, that King Gaman, or Agaman, dwelling to the 
north-west of Ashantee, had made an invasion, taking his 
heriditary foe when in deep straits. Though the story is 
very probable, I did not repeat it, for the reason that 
it could not be traced to any channel of information; but 
the rumour is in every one's mouth here, and it evidently 
comes direct from the front. Without putting too much 
faith in the tale, it must be admitted that belief therein will 
explain facts very mysterious at present, namely, the hurried 
retreat of the enemy after his successful skirmish of the 
27th ult., and his unexpected retirement from the river. 

Returning under charge of my cheerful cannibals, who are 
sworn to drown or save me if the canoe upset, every one asks 
what the other bank is like. I can only say it is exactly like 
this bank, except the clearing. But though nature's work be 
identical, there is all the contrast between civilization and 
barbarism, life and death. This bank resounds with the clang 
of axe and cutlass, the shout of busy men, the thump of 
mallet. A heavy task have Colonel Wood and his officers. 
In a fortnight from this time a camp for 5000 men, and 
a fortified depot for the stores required in our march to 
Coomassie, must be made in the midst of a dense jungle. It 
will be believed that no one is idle. Regulars and irregulars, 
soldiers and labourers, all work together, cutting bush, col- 
lecting thatch, burning rubbish, digging holes, planting 
stakes. Here is a motly squad of Wood's regiment in long 



A BUSY CAMP. 



213 



ti Lite smocks and black felt caps — the ugliest uniform ever 
devised — at drill ; there another company, the cannibals, 
coming from the bush in one long file, bearing posts upon 
their heads. Ten yards beyond, Lieutenant Allen, R.M.A., 
is teaching his Houssa artillerymen to aim, whilst Lieutenant 
Saunders, R.A., is taking sights across the river with mys- 
terious implements of science. Captain Buckle, R.E., mean- 
while draws a plan at the entrance to his tent, wherein our 
muddy river is depicted of cerulean blue, and dabs of green 
represent the forest. Everywhere long lines of men wind in 
and out amongst the trees ; everywhere are officers drilling, 
ordering, explaining, consulting, busy as bees. Such times 
have not been on the Prah since 1863, when the 4th W.I. 
were posted here for four months, and built an intrenchment, 
of which we curiously trace the ditch and parapet. The 
officers and the few white soldiers we have here are under 
canvas, but the natives have built long sheds of palm-branch 
and plantain leaf, in which they sleep. Of these the Bonny 
shed is the neatest, for these people have so far advanced in 
civilization as to plait their thatch after the Eastern manner. 

The Prah has been measured, and found to be sixty-five 
yards broad at the point selected for the bridge. It is a deep 
swift stream, the colour of mud, and nearly the consistence. 
Opposite to our camp is a creek, perhaps forty feet broad, 
which pours a darker stream into the rapid puddle. Across 
this still remains the rope, a creeper, by which those Ashantees 
who crossed above its outlet rejoined their comrades. I cannot 



214 



ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PRAH. 



think that the main body used the path which I have lately- 
followed on the other side. It is scarcely more than two feet 
wide, and, though badly cut up in the damper spots, does not 
show the signs of an army's passage. That proportion of the 
invading force which used this immediate neighbourhood for 
their crossing have left the remains of their bridge. Between 
two trees which had fallen, or had been felled long since, and 
lay half buried in the stream, a rope is stretched, which still 
drags in the racing water. With no other assistance they 
tried to reach the other bank. Undoubtedly, the loss of life 
must have been great, if it be true, as alleged, that the mass 
of the Ashantees cannot swim. The depth of the river has 
not yet been measured, but, as Mercutio says, " It is enough ; 
't'will serve." Of the strength of the current some guess 
can be made from the fact that three canoes, with practised 
men onboard, were upset yesterday in measuring the breadth. 
Small chance had an Ashantee swept from that rope. The 
Fantees say, though Heaven knows how they should tell, 
that three hundred lives were lost, and, in point of fact, 
several bodies have been found in the length of our camp. 
One was hanging in the nearest tree when our men arrived, 
another was caught by the boughs of an overhanging bush, a 
third lay entangled on a raft. Several corpses were also 
found on the bank itself, which have been burnt or buried. 
Two bodies, probably chiefs, hung on the branches of a tree, 
suspended in the baskets which are their travelling 
carriages. On the further bank, too, were some who had 



THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 



215 



reached shore only to die. Very striking and ghastly was the 
attitude of a corpse just opposite the site of our bridge. It 
was crouched upon the bank, the head resting on the hands, 
and elbows on the knees ; — at this moment I look up and 
see a heap of bones with turkey buzzards waddling round. 
It will be buried to-morrow by the scouts. Above this, up 
stream, are the ruined huts of a camp. The banks are very 
high and steep, not less, perhaps, than forty feet. If we 
could have caught the enemy crossing there would have been 
a terrible massacre. But the bulk of the army did not use 
their rope bridge. Twenty-three canoes, some very large 
indeed, have been discovered and brought up by scouts. 
These were ferried over without order, for there is a track of 
many feet through every part of the bush on the other side. 
Beside them, nearly four miles down the river, a suspension 
bridge is reported, really a creditable piece of work. The 
Kossus discovered it, and Lieutenent Clowes describes it to 
me as a structure somewhat like those bridges I have admired 
in the Far East, though less elaborate. Eight big lianas or 
"bush ropes" sustained a footway of two bamboos side 
by side, along which, on a slip ring, ran four big rafts. These 
latter remained, just as they were left, with several corpses 
putrifying on them. By this, as I think, the greater portion 
of the army crossed. For, whatever those may say who have 
not thoroughly explored this line of retreat, the Ashantees 
numbered not less than thirty thousand men, besides women 
and slaves. I have not ceased to declare from the first 



2l6 



ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PRAH. 



of my experience in the war, that the fighting force against 
us reached that number, and though the loss has been heavy, 
no doubt it might be balanced by the reinforcements lately 
sent from Coomassie. In this estimate I am countenanced 
by Captain Gordon, late 98th regiment. No one has had such 
experience as he, and no one has seen so much of the enemy. 
He tells me that though the length of the abandoned camps, 
along the roadside, is surprising, their depth in the bush fairly 
astonished him. Shed beyond shed in irregular lines they 
stretch two hundred yards back, on a mile-long frontage, and 
then occurs a belt of uncleared bush behind which lies another 
camp, and another, equally large. In these light huts 
Ashantees pack as close as they can lie ; and when all the 
scattered divisions reassembled beyond Mansu, thirty thou- 
sand, I repeat, is the lowest calculation of them to be 
accepted by one who has followed their track. 

The busy troops up here are Wood's regiment, consisting 
of Cape Coast men, Kossus, Bonny men, and loyal Elminas, 
in all 459 men ; 87 of the 2nd W. I., under Captain Grant ; 40 
men of Rait's Houssa Artillery, under Lieutenants Saunders 
and Allen ; two sergeants and two corporals, R.A., two marine 
artillerymen and two bluejackets, with two 7-lb guns and one 
7-inch howitzer. On the 23rd, RusselFs regiment, consisting 
of Houssas and native recruits, will move up here. The Gene- 
ral is expected before the end of the month, leaving Cape Coast 
Castle on the 27th. Not until his arrival will the bridge be 
begun. The Rifles and the 23rd regiment will return on the 



INTENDED MOVEMENTS. 



217 



3rd prox., and will begin to land by half battalions on the 4th, 
if all be ready for them. The 42nd regiment will not be landed 
as a regiment, so far as is yet decided, but will be used to fill up 
vacancies by death and disease.* The fact is, that more than 
4000 men could not possibly be fed beyond the Prah, and we 
shall have close upon that number. Two white battalions will 
number 1300 men ; a naval brigade of 300, though, I believe, 
the number is not yet fixed, artillery, engineers, and officers 
will make considerably more than 2000 men ; and native allies, 
Houssas, etc., should bring our army to 4000. These should 
be enough for the fighting, and too many, I fear, for the loot 
of Coomassie. Loot there ought to be, and of the most 
satisfactory class, but our men will have to be very smart, or 
the Kossus and Houssas will get before them. I regret 
to tell that the Gatling guns, from which so much was 
expected, have proved a failure One of them already 
refuses to "traverse," and has been left behind at Dunquah. 
They are found very awkward in carrying. However, it 
is thought that an effort will be made to get one of them 
forward. The finished road was not even up to Mansu when 
I passed through three days ago, and there is yet the worst 
tract of country before Lieutenant Mann. Between Mansu 
and Yancoomassie Assin, hundreds of yards of path are shin- 
deep in puddled clay. But, though equally undulating, the 

* Thi3 statement represents correctly the General's intention at the time. 
As all the world knows now, the 42nd regiment landed, and the 23rd 
remained behind. 



218 ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PR AH 



country is much better drained beyond that post. North of 
Dunquah there is everywhere a fall of tremendous rain at 
intervals of about thirty- six hours. 

In the evening we had heavy rains, which delayed the 
dinner to which I was invited by Colonel Wood. My men 
had built me a shed, without walls, and the damp enclosed 
me like a garment on lying down. Though three fires burnt 
within six feet, their flames only appeared as a crimson glow, 
and the forms of my men, sleeping beside them, were quite 
invisible. In the middle of the night I was attacked by ants, 
who climbed the posts of my brush bedstead. Turning out 
in a hurry, it was the strangest scene before my eyes. No 
objects could be discerned at a yard's distance, so heavy lay 
the mist, but on every side showed a halo of fire. Next 
morning I set out on the back trail, after inspection of an 
electric fish just caught. No other specimen of this creature 
was taken, to my knowledge. Its shape stood somewhat 
between that of the eel and that of the golden carp ; it had 
four long feelers at the mouth, and a smooth skin. When 
first brought out by Dr. Mosse's boys, the power of its 
shock was very severe. Even at the point of death, as I saw 
it, the electricity had not quite departed, and I was aware of 
a tingling too real to be quite pleasant on touching it. This 
specimen might have been eight inches long. 

At Barraco Major Russell and his officers were in high 
delight over a despatch just received through Sir Garnet. It 
conveyed to them Her Majesty's thanks for their excellent 



PICTURES 'Q UE JO URNEY BY NIGHT. 2 1 9 



dispositions and gallant conduct in the engagement of Abra- 
krampa, when " for many hours consecutively they resisted the 
attack of greatly inferior numbers." Lord GifFord had charge 
of the transport arrangements at this post, and so well had 
he managed matters that not a box of stores was lying there. 
My men were by this time knocked up, and Lord GifFord's 
energy spoiled my success in recruiting amongst the loafers of 
the camp ; — it appears incredible to relate, that there were no 
loafers at Barraco. But at the last moment, eight men turned 
up en route for Mansu, returning empty. These I promptly 
engaged, and set out for a night march. V ery picturesque 
is a journey under such circumstances. The road was crowded, 
and all who travelled my way hastened to secure the myste- 
rious protection that dwells under a white skin. At short 
intervals, a group of fires by the roadside showed the halting 
place of a convoy, who would be afoot long before dawn. So 
on through the night. 

Beyond Yancoomassie Assin, next day, I met Lieutenant Knox, 
R.A., superintending the transport of a 71b. gun, a howitzer 
of the same bore, and a Gatling. His men hauled them along 
in silence, breathing hard, and desperately impressed with the 
mysterious science of the whites. A heavy task had they, for 
the mud lay mid-leg deep. Before reaching Sutah, Lieu- 
tenant Mann, R.E., appeared, on his way to the Prah. To 
my complaint about the road in this neighbourhood, he in- 
formed me he had no orders to improve it beyond Mansu. 
At Sutah I found Captain Russell, Captain Brabazon, 



220 ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PRAH. 



Captain Paget, and another stranger. Captains Brabazon 
and Paget were on their way to join Butler, who had been 
commissioned to head the Akims in their projected invasion. 
Captain Butler's whereabouts is a mystery, but with light 
hearts these gentlemen have prepared to find him. By the 
bye, we have a funny tale of Captain Butler. In his hopeless 
errand of rousing the latent courage of Akim, he found himself 
harassed by the obstinate refusal of the Christian people to 
take up arms. Inquiring into this, it appeared that the pastor 
of these converts had urged them without ceasing to suffer 
anything rather than fight ; no doubt they were eager to 
accept such palatable counsels. Captain Butler sent for the 
man, a native, and asked what he meant by his seditious 
preachings. Replied the hapless padre, " War is forbidden 
by my religion and yours. It is upon my conscience to 
denounce this invasion." The story goes that Captain Butler 
ordered him three dozen, but that I think improbable. What 
a deal of trouble and annoyance would have been saved if all 
the Akims had followed the teaching of this missionary, and 
flatly refused to serve ! 

Colonel Colley had arrived at Mansu, relieving Mr. Com. 
Elliot in the management of transport. He had already 
given proofs of that astonishing activity which conduced 
so much to the success of the expedition. Here also I 
first heard of Capt. Glover's altered plans. He abandons the 
hope of attacking Coomassie from the east, and is en route 
for a point on the Prah only 20 miles from Prahsu. The 



TOUCHING SCENE ON THE ROAD. 221 



1st W.I. are to garrison Cape Coast Castle and Elmina 
during the campaign. From Mansu the bearers who had 
been engaged at Barraco bolted into the bush for fear of 
impressment, and those of my own carriers who had kept up 
accompanied them. It is in this way that Fantees escape 
the fulfilment of their duty. I was warned by the incident 
not to pay any man his full wages until I wanted him no 
more. 

At Yancoomassie Eantee, next day, a touching event 
occurred. A woman in my company, a slave, recognised her 
mother amongst a convoy of female carriers. They each cast 
down their burdens, and fell into one another's arms. They 
did not kiss, as we do — poor black wretches — but they sobbed 
and laughed with a catching breath, and gazed, face against 
face, with glistening eyes, and hugged again with a loving 
coo, so that, I swear, my very carriers ceased to grin. The 
pair had been captured by Ashantees seven years ago and 
separately sold. 

Whilst sitting under a tree waiting for breakfast, a man 
crossed the road and offered me some fruit in a shamefaced 
manner. I thanked him, and he ran away, as if afraid I should 
give him money. My boys informed me the present was of 
kola nuts, the symbol of loyalty and friendship in West 
Africa. I tasted one ; found it very bitter, and failed to 
observe that delicious sweetness which is said to follow the 
aliquid amari. The bystanders ate them greedily. This 
kola is also the "war nut" of Ashantee celebrated by Bow- 



222 



ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PRAH. 



ditch. Its taste somewhat reminded me of bettel, and it has, 
probably, the same effect, gently stimulating, and paralysing 
to those nerves which give the hunger-pang. 

Starting from Dunquah at 2.30 a.m. on Christmas Day, I 
reached Capo Coast Castle in time for breakfast, at 10 a.m. 
The preparations to celebrate this great festivity had been con- 
spicuous in every camp, but the Fantees have no interest 
in the holiday. When I say the preparations had been 
conspicuous, don't think of holly or ivy, much more of 
mistletoe. Decorations there were none, but good plum- 
puddings in plenty. At Dunquah a banqueting hut had 
been erected, and a bullock secured for the roast beef. But 
Cape Coast cares little for Christmas. Its festival is the 
"Yam Custom," when the king of Ashantee celebrates the 
bloodiest of his massacres, and Fantee chiefs, debarred this 
gratification, get piously drunk in honour of new yams. 
Bunches of that lovely acacia, the "pride of Barbadoes," 
adorned the doorways of all Christian residents, but I 
observed no other sign. In the castle, and at private houses, 
there was such festivity as can be attained in this most 
miserable of all countries. Have I mentioned elsewhere that 
the wealthiest people of Cape Coast are reduced not un- 
frequently to dine on salt pork or Australian meat? It 
is true. No animals will live except native sheep and goats, 
the former of which can scarcely be distinguished from its 
companion, the dog. These creatures, and fowls, exist in 
some numbers, but they are not killed frequently. Unless a 



MARCH OF THE NA VAL BRIGADE. 



merchant keep his own sheep and his own poultry he will 
often be reduced to straits for meat. And when killed, ye 
gods, what studies of osteology are they ! Like no flesh 
of earth is Cape Coast mutton. It has a taste combined 
of horn, shrimps, and a wet dishcloth, for those who have 
time and energy to explore its character. 

Cape Coast Castle, 

Dec. 27th, 6.30 a.it. 

I have just seen Sir Garnet depart for the invading cam- 
paign. At 3.30 a.m. the Naval Brigade, under Captain Blake, 
R.N., began to embark, half an hour before the time ap- 
pointed. A few minutes' delay was caused by this precipita- 
tion, for the boats of the c Encounter ' were not ready to assist. 
By 4.45 the entire force, with baggage loaded up and eager 
for the march, formed on the beach. Exactly at five o'clock 
gun it halted in front of Government House ; a few seconds 
sufficed to complete all formalities, and then the head of our 
column fairly began the march to Coomassie. By the admirable 
promptitude of all persons concerned, the Naval Brigade, 208 
in number, with fifteen officers, will reach its halting place at 
Inquabim, or Aquapim, as some call it, before the sun has 
much oppressive power. An hour afterwards, punctual to five 
minutes, Sir Garnet himself started in his man-carriage, with 
Colonel Greaves, chief of the staff, Major Baker, and Captain 
Huyshe, Captain Brackenbury, Military Secretary; Lieu- 
tenant Maurice, Private Secretary ; Hon. Mr. Wood, aide-de- 
<;amp, and the other members of the staff, left last night, 



224 



ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PRAH. 



sleeping at Inquabim. They rode mules that came from 
Madeira by the ' Lilian/ wretched beasts, one of which, how- 
ever, found nous and energy sufficient to pitch its rider 
comically in mid- street. Little excitement was caused 
by the general's departure. The sailors had passed 
through before the town had fairly wakened up, and 
it did not appear to know that this was the final and 
definite start for Coomassie. The merchants of Cape Coast, 
however, the representatives of those large firms which trade 
here, assembled to do honour to the General who has already 
done so much to restore their prosperity. He travels in 
his carriage as far as Akroful, where the forest becomes so lofty 
as to shade the road. From thence, to-morrow morning, he 
and all his staff will travel on foot, by the regular stages, to 
the Prah. Going thus slowly, they will take six days at least 
to cover the distance I lately traversed in two and a half. 
But the example of their General will do wonders to invigo- 
rate their men. At Prahsu the staff is expected to wait 
until the last division of white troops arrive, about the 13th 
prox. But it has been whispered to me that if our scouts 
make the report expected, viz., that the Ashantees have not 
yet occupied the Adansi Hills in force, a dash may be made 
to frustrate them. Wood's and RusselPs regiment, with 
the Naval Brigade to back them, would doubtless be 
equal to this daring venture. But I give the report as 
one without authority. Sir Garnet keeps his secrets well, 
and so do his staff officers. An attempt of this nature is 



ATTACK ON CHAM AH, 



225 



one to be only revealed to a public thousands of miles 
away. 

Yesterday the long expected attack on Chamah took place. 
The natives of that treacherous town had partly rebuilt it 
after the bombardment, and they still gave shelter to the 300 
Ashantees sent to buy powder four months ago. In fact, 
the escape of this detachment has become almost hopeless. 
The Wassaws and Comenda people keep watch day and 
night in the bush around Chamah. The general himself 
went down thither on the 23rd to carry the attacking force of 
Comendas across the Prah, and to see the fight which did 
not come off. Yesterday, however, our allies advanced, drove 
the enemy from their town, and burnt it a second time. The 
details of the action are not yet known : but there was some 
loss of life amongst the Comendas. In the house opposite 
to that in which I live, a dismal wailing and outcry gave us 
the first intimation of the engagement. The young owner, 
a Comenda man by birth, had been shot dead, and his grand- 
mother, mother, wives, children, and slaves had begun the 
" custom." They came out of the house, wringing their 
hands and lamenting. Chalked over the forehead and the 
upper arm, they screamed aloud the virtues of the deceased, 
with sad gesticulation, wailed themselves till nature gave 
way, and then fell prone, covering their faces. One young 
girl I saw who found the opportunity a good one for indulging 
her love of the dance. She waved her arms, and flourished, 
and swayed her lithe body in such rhythmic contortions as 



226 ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PR AH 



never grief assumed. I know that girl was just enjoying 
herself, and, no doubt, her young man stood not far off. 
A few words from the police put a sudden stop to the mourn- 
ing, which would otherwise have gone on for weeks, with the 
accompaniment of much rum and tobacco. The noise dis- 
turbed our poor fellows in hospital. While this attack on 
Chamah was taking place, the ' Active ' bombarded another 
hostile settlement to the Eastward. At evening the Comen- 
das begged to be taken back across the river, which was done. 
I suppose the blockade of the bush will be continued until the 
Wassaws muster courage to meet their enemies in face. 

The ( Amethyst ' returned yesterday from Ascension, bring- 
ing sad news. The Hon. Mr. Charteris, late aide-de-camp, 
died two days after leaving this coast, of fever. Lieut. Wells f 
R.N., whose rapid judgment and determination proved so 
effective in the battle of Elmina, and who commanded the 
naval force at Abrakrampa, died on his way home to 
take up his appointment to the Queen's yacht. Yellow 
fever is making incredible ravages down the coast, but 
a strict quarantine is kept here. No case is known to 
have ever happened in Cape Coast, though the " rivers " are 
yearly infested with it. On the other hand, new faces abound. 
By the f Sarmatian/ which brought out the 42nd regiment, 
came Brig. Gen. Sir A. Alison, Bart, C.B. ; Col. Greaves, 
now chief of the staff ; Lt. Col. Colley, who has taken the 
Transport in charge; Major Maclean, Rifle Brigade; Capt. 
Duncan, R.A. ; Capt. Hon. P. Methuen, Scots Fusiliers; 



MOVEMENTS OE THE FORCES. 



227 



Capt. Paget, ditto ; Capt. P. Russell, 14th Hussars ; Capt. 
Russell, 12th Lancers; Lieut. Macgregor, 50th regiment ; and 
Lieut. Vander Meulen, ditto ; Lieut. Fitzgerald, Rifle Brigade ; 
Lieut. Knox, R.A. ; and Lieut, de Houghton, 2nd bat., 10th 
foot. With them came also Rev. Mr. Kirkwood, Presby- 
terian chaplain. To-day has arrived the mail of the ( Soudan/ 
which vessel had almost been given up. She broke down off 
Teneriffe, and her passengers had a fortnight's run ashore. 
The vessels of the " Union " line have begun their promised 
call. The * Anglian ' came in on the 15th instant, and took 
away some invalids and the mail. 

Capt. Glover is supposed to have already set out for the 
Prah, after reducing the Ahwoonahs to subjection; but we 
have no intelligence later than his departure for that purpose. 
Capt. Butler has returned to Akim, whither several officers, 
detached for that service, are deviously following. The Akims 
will form a third column of invasion, and will march between 
Glover's force and ours, crossing the Prah on their own line. 
The advance is expected to take place simultaneously, about 
the 15th prox. Our bridge will probably be begun and finished 
on the 5th prox. The river is reported to be 13 \ feet deep in 
the middle, a much greater depth than had been anticipated. 
But since the measurement was taken, we hear of a fall of 
two feet. The engineers in charge are Major Home and 
Capt. Buckle, and in such energetic hands there is small 
chance of delay. The telegraph had been completed nearly 
to Akroful, when I passed through on the morning of the 

Q2 



228 



ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PRAH 



25th. Laying it was slow work, whilst to plant poles was 
needful ; but when once it has reached the forest the wire can 
be passed from tree to tree with the greatest rapidity. From 
Dunquah to the* Prah may be laid in four days, or less, if 
necessary. 

The following memorandum has been issued by Sir 
Garnet : — 

The Major -General Commanding has made the following notes for the 
information and guidance^ of the soldiers and sailors about to take part in 
the operations north of the river Prah : 

Health. — The climate is much better and more pleasant in the interior than 
on the seashore, and if ordinary precautions are taken there is no reason why 
any of the troops should suffer in health during the few weeks that they may 
have to remain in the country. 

The officers must see that tea or chocolate with a little biscuit is provided 
for their men every morning before marching, and quinine will be served out 
by the medical officers. 

During the heat of the day, or when marching late in the morning, com- 
manding officers may, at their discretion, allow the patrol-jackets to be taken off" 
and carried by the men. These can be easily carried, slung behind under the 
waist-belt. Immediately that the march is over, or if any long halt takes 
place, these jackets must be [put on, for a chill when the body is heated is, 
above all things, to be avoided. 

The following maxims should be impressed upon the men : 

First. Never allow the body to suffer a chill, and there will not be much 
chance of your ever^beingfsick. 

Second. Never expose the head uncovered to the sun, and when halting or 
on sentry get into the shade!if possible. 

Third. When camping for the night, do your best to construct a raised 
sleeping-place, even a few inches off the ground. Examine the camps of the 



MEMORANDUM. 



129 



Ashantees on the road to the Prah, and copy their plan of making bedsteads. 
They are easily and quickly made ; and sleeping off the ground is a great 
preservative of health. 

Fourth. If any irregularities of the bowels is experienced, go at once to the 
doctor for a dose. Never drink water until you have filtered it. The opera- 
tions beyond the Prah will last only a few weeks ; and the Major- General 
relies on the manliness of the soldiers and sailors to keep them out- of hospital 
as long as they have strength to march. The battalion that is composed of 
the best men and that is best looked after by its officers will send the fewest 
sick men to the rear. 

Mode of Fighting. — The theatre of operations will be a great forest of 
gigantic trees, in an undergrowth of bush varying in thickness. At some 
places men can get through the bush in skirmishing order ; at others they will 
have to use the sword-bayonet to open paths for themselves. All the fighting 
will be in skirmishing order, the files being two, three, or four paces apart, 
according to circumstances. When once thus engaged in a fight in the bush, 
officers commanding battalions, and even officer's commanding companies, will 
find it difficult to exercise much control over the men. For this reason it is 
essential that the tactical unit should be as small as possible. Every company 
will therefore be at once divided into four sections, and each section will be 
placed under the command of an officer or non-commissioned officer. These 
sections, once told off, are not on any account to be broken up during the war, 
nor are the commanders to be changed except under extraordinary circum- 
stances, and then only by order of the officer commanding the battalion. All 
details of duty will be performed by sections, or, when only very small guards 
or piquets are required, by half sections. In action, as a general rule, the 
three sections only of each company will be extended, and the fourth will 
form a support in rear of the centre of the company's skirmishing line, and a 
from 40 to 80 yards from it. Care must be taken that the support never 
loses sight of its own skirmishers, and that it conforms to their movements, 
but its commander must never allow it to become mixed up with the skir- 
mishers unless it is ordered forward by the officer commanding the company, 



230 ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PR AH. 

The captain will always be with the skirmishing line, exercising a general 
control over it, and as the enemy only fight in loose skirmishing order, it will 
seldom be necessary to bring forward the support into the skirmishing line. 
Fighting in the bush is very much like fighting by twilight, no one can see 
farther than a few files to the right or left. Great steadiness and self-confi- 
dence are therefore required from every one engaged. The Ashantees always 
employ the same tactics. Being superior in numbers, they encircle their 
enemy's flanks by long thin lines of skirmishers, hoping thereby to demoralise 
their opponents. The men engaged in our front line should not concern them- 
selves about these flank attacks. They must have the same confidence in their 
G-eneral that he has in them, and depend upon him to take the necessary 
measures for meeting all such attacks either in flank or rear. Each soldier 
must remember that with his breechloader he is equal to at least twenty 
Ashantees, wretchedly armed as they are with old flint muskets, firing 
slugs or pieces of stone, that do not hurt badly at more than forty or fifty 
yards' range. Our enemies have neither guns nor rockets, and have a super- 
stitious dread of those used by us. 

In action the two comrades forming each file must always keep together, and 
the officers and non-commissioned officers commanding sections will use their 
utmost endeavours to keep their sections from mixing up with those on their 
right and left. If during the advance into the bush, fire is unexpectedly opened 
by the enemy concealed behind cover, the men will immediately drop on the 
knee behind trees or any cover that may be at hand, pausing well before 
delivering their fire, and taking care to fire low at the spots from 
which the enemy were seen to fire. All firing against a concealed enemy 
should be slow, and officers and non-commissioned officers in command 
of sections must spare no efforts to prevent the men from wasting their 
ammunition. It must be explained to the men that, owing to the diffi- 
culties of transport, the supply of ammunition beyond the Prah will be 
very limited, and that every shot fired which is not deliberately aimed, 
not only encourages the enemy, who would soon learn to despise a fire 
that did them no injury, but seriously affects the efficiency of the force, 



MEMORANDUM. 



231 



for if ammunition were to run short, a stop would be put to our further 
advance. 

The Major-Greneral must rely upon the intelligence of the soldiers and 
sailors to husband their ammunition without any efforts from the officers being 
required. 

The advance will be made along narrow paths, where the men can only 
march in file, and sometimes only single file. When an action commences, 
the troops on the centre path will deploy to the front into skirmishing order, 
either to the right or left of the path, as ordered, upon the leading file. 
The rear section of each company will always form the support, and officers 
commanding companies will be careful to lead these deployments, so that their 
front may always be as nearly as possible at right angles to the path they had 
been marching upon. All officers must remember that the front line will, as 
a general rule, face north by west, and when at any distance from the path 
they must guide the direction of their advance by compass. Officers com- 
manding battalions and companies will not order any bugle-call to be sounded 
in camp or on the march north of the Prah except to repeat those sounded on 
the main road by order of the Major- General Commanding, and these, if 
preceded by any special regimental call, will be repeated only by the battalion 
concerned, and by any battalion that may be operating between the main road 
and the corps indicated by the call. When any call is not preceded by regi- 
mental call, it will be repeated by every bugler within hearing, except those 
that may be on duty with the baggage guard. Whenever the advance and 
double is sounded, it is to be understood to order a general advance of the 
whole front line upon the enemy. The men will then advance, cheering, at a 
fast walk, making short rushes whenever the nature of the ground will allow of 
their being made. All such advances will be preceded by a heavy fire of guns 
and rockets. On reaching a clearing, in the course of an action, or when the 
enemy is in the immediate neighbourhood, the troops will not cross over the 
open space until the clearing has been turned, and the bush on both sides of 
it has been occupied. When once a position has been gained, it is to be held 
resolutely. In warfare of this nature there must be no retreats. No village 



232 ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PR AH 



or camp is to be set on fire except by order of the Major- General commanding 
Officers and men are reminded of the danger and delay which occur if a 
village is set on fire before all the ammunition and baggage have made 
their way through it. All plundering and unnecessary destruction of 
property are to be strictly repressed. Officers are held responsible that when 
a village or camp is occupied their men are kept together, and prevented from 
dispersing to seek plunder. The importance of kindness from all ranks to the 
friendly natives who are employed as carriers cannot be too strongly urged. 
If the carriers are ill-treated, troops run imminent risk of being left without 
food and ammunition. 

It must never be forgotten by our soldiers that Providence has implanted 
in the heart of every native of Africa a superstitious awe and dread of the 
white man, that prevents the negro from daring to meet us face to face in 
combat. A steady advance or a charge, no matter how partial, made with 
determination, always means the retreat of the enemy. Although, when at a 
distance, and even when under a heavy fire, the Ashantees seem brave enough 
from their practice of yelling and singing, and beating drums in order to 
frighten the enemies of their own colour, with whom they are accustomed to 
make war, they will not stand against the advance of the white man. English 
soldiers and sailors are accustomed to fight against immense odds in all parts 
of the world. It is scarcely necessary to remind them that when, in our 
battles beyond the Prah, they find themselves surrounded on all sides by 
hordes of howling enemies, they must rely upon their own British courage and 
discipline, and upon the courage of their comrades. Soldiers and sailors, 
remember that the black man holds you in superstitious awe. Be cool, fire 
low, and charge home ; and the more numerous your enemy, the greater will 
be the loss inflicted upon him, and the greater your honour in defeating him. 

By order, 

Gk E. G-reaves, Colonel, Chief of the Staff. 
Head-quarters, Cape Coast Castle, December 20th, 1873. 

On December 29th the 1st West India Regiment landed 



AN ABSURD UNIFORM. 



233 



from the Manitoba, and took up its quarters on Connor's 
and Barnes' Hills. It looks very spruce and neat, a real 
" Pride of Barbadoes," where the route found it. Our 2nd 
W.I. invalids observe with equal jealousy and scorn the snow- 
white jackets, vests of undimmed scarlet, and spotless 
gaiters, which mark their new-landed comrades. But it is 
intended to furnish both these black regiments with the 
" Ashantee uniform," helmet and all. Surely, those who 
devised this scheme never beheld a negro. I have seen a 
soldier of the 1st W.I. in his new clothing. The man was 
well enough for stature and bearing. In the old uniform 
I have no doubt he looked picturesque, and even martial. 
But no monkey that ever begged copper for an organ boy, 
presented an appearance more ridiculous than did this 
specimen soldier in helmet and suit of grey. One looked 
behind him for the string. The man was ashamed and 
angry ; well he might be. 

Sir A. Alison's aides-de-camp are gazetted, Captain Rus- 
sell, and Lieut. Maurice Fitzgerald, Rifle Brigade. The 
officers appointed to aid Butler in his command of the Akims, 
are Captain Paget, S. F. G. ; Captain Brabazon, late G.G., 
and Lieut. Fitzgerald, 50th Regiment. They have already 
left to seek their commanding officer, and two of them had 
already reached Sutah, when I met them on the 23rd instant. 
The Gatling gun left behind at Dunquah has arrived at this 
place for repairs. 

On the 30th the 1 Simoom ' returned from a cruise 



234 



ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PRAH. 



bringing word of the death of Captain Townsend, 16th 
Regiment. The 'Barracouta' gave some alarm at this 
time. She should have been back long since, and the fear 
is that yellow fever has broken out on board. Great 
anxiety in official circles about the transport. It begins 
to be hinted by persons in authority that we may not 
impossibly break down at the Prah. Women carriers com- 
plain of the rations. They get lib. of rice per diem, which 
is a sufficient quanity; rice, however, is asserted to give them 
all sorts of derangement. They ask for maize, but unless we 
are prepared to carry grinding stones also, maize would be use- 
less. Indeed, we haven't any to distribute. The Chamah people 
still hold out, and will do so until we take Coomassie, I dare 
say. An amusing proof of the change of spirit in Elmina was 
given to Captain Lees yesterday. The General requested 
him to forward a message to the Ashantee chiefs in 
Chamah by some of the disloyal townsmen of Elmina. 
Captain Lees forwarded the order to Helden, who tried to 
execute it. But, happy spot ! there are no disloyal towns- 
men of Elmina at this present time ! Chiefs who had 
notoriously turned out with the Ashantees, and had drunk 
themselves blind in toasts against English rule, proved to 
be intensely loyal per se, and did not even enjoy the 
acquaintance of any person of different sentiments. 

Jan. 1st. At two o'clock this morning the boats of the 
fleet, towed by steam cutters, under orders of Lieutenant 
Pollard, of Her Majesty's ship ' Simoom/ were ranged in 



LANDING OF THE RIFLES. 



235 



order alongside the ' Himalaya/ Until within forty-eight 
hours it was still under discussion whether the 42nd or Rifles 
should be first put ashore. The latter were finally preferred, 
on the ground of a slight outbreak of erysipelas in the former 
regiment. As soon as the boats came alongside, the men, all 
ready and waiting, stepped into them. There was very little 
swell, and a moon so bright that lanterns were unnecessary. 
Moorings had been laid down at the edge of the surf by 
Captain Crohan, R.N., who had charge of the debarkation. 
As fast as the laden boats arrived they were assigned moor- 
ings, to which they held until the surf-boats came to tranship 
their men. Not a hitch of any sort took place, and so 
prompt had everybody been that by 3.30 a.m. the troops were 
en route for Inquabim. They were 360 rank and file, under 
the command of Colonel Warren. The other half of the 
battalion lands to-morrow at the same hour, and the last 
detachment of the 42nd will be ashore on the 4th inst. 
Starting precisely at 3.30 a.m., the sun was scarcely risen 
when the day's halt took place at the huts of Inquabim. 
Only one man fell out — a sergeant of Engineers — who had 
been strongly advised by his officers not to risk this climate. 
The regimental transport service worked quite smoothly under 
Sub-Lieutenant Filliter, and that gentleman has returned to 
supervise the arrangements for to-morrow's detachment. 
Whilst I write the ' Victor Emanuel ' hospital ship is arriv- 
ing in the roads. A noble fleet we have at anchor — twenty- 
three steamers and four sailing vessels. 



236 



ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PRAH 



All the news from the front is intercepted on its way by 
Sir Garnet, who will probably reach the Prah to-morrow. 
The telegraph has been laid as far as Yancoomassie Fantee ; 
but the supply of wire is nearly exhausted. Fortunately, 
there is an ample store on board the ' Dromedary/ which has 
begun to unload. In the short distance already set up there 
have been two accidents caused by the fall of trees across the 
line, and I noticed several trunks half cut through, with no 
apparent object, by the road-cutters. They were all a foot 
or two from the edge of the track, and perhaps the myste- 
rious commands of the fetish have enjoined the operation. 
There is no suspicion of malice. The people here care no 
more about the telegraph, and feel no more curiosity about it, 
than any other marvel of science which makes no noise. The 
traction engines work all day at their useful task of sawing 
boards, but no one now stops to admire their panting and 
puffing. Even residents of the coast had hoped that our 
inventions would excite the Fantees to some curiosity, some 
interest, but it is not so. They will stare and shriek at a 
steam-engine or a Gatling gun when working, so long as it is 
a novelty ; but all these things are classed as " white man's 
fetish," and there is an end to the matter. An incredible 
apathy and a shameless cowardice are the leading features of 
the Fantee character. There is again an alarm about car- 
riers, and it seems very doubtful whether we shall be able to 
get 4000 labourers across the Prah without more vigorous 
compulsion. With less than this number Sir Garnet can 



DESERTION OF FANTEES. 



237 



scarcely hope to move. Every village round is crammed 
with refugees from Cape Coast. My own hammock men, 
who were engaged for the duration of the war, have run 
away, and others have been engaged. Three were pressed' by 
the police before I could get them passes, and the rest have 
vanished. I have sent to Anamaboo to raise men, but if my 
messenger comes back without them, there will be no choice 
but to march on foot, which is a most undesirable method of 
travelling in the tropics for a newspaper correspondent, who 
should always endeavour to elude the laws of physics and be 
in two or three places at one time. Fear of the Ashantees is 
an instinct of the Fantee breast, and the terrors of that laud 
beyond the Prah prove too much for his very small store of 
moral courage. Here again the women show themselves the 
better men. They are willing to follow us anywhere, and it 
seems not at all unlikely that we may have to fall back upon 
female pluck for labour; but if it actually happened so, be 
sure the men would feel no shame. That honest quality has 
no place in their hearts. 

In the absence of news from the front the wildest rumours 
circulate. We hear that King Koffee has sent an embassy 
for peace, with the promise of an enormous ransom. 1 doubt 
whether this monarch and his home-staying counsellors have 
yet learned the lesson of our superiority. That the men who 
fought with us on this side the Prah will easily be brought to 
make another fight I cannot believe ; but we are quite igno- 
rant of the Ashantee resources. It is to be observed, how- 



238 ON THE FURTHER SIDE THE PR AH. 

ever, that our march to Coomassie lies far to the west of 
those provinces named in the War Office's notes as being most 
populous and warlike. The inhabitants know enough of 
Englishmen to be aware that if they leave us alone, it is very 
improbable that we should step aside to injure them, and the 
chances are that they will leave King Koffee to his fate. I 
learn that King Gaman, the bitterest and most inveterate of 
Ashantee enemies, was invited by the General to co-operate 
with our invasion on his first landing, and this makes more 
probable the rumour of his attack from the north-west. No 
answer has been received from the King, but it may be that he 
differs so very far from the Fantee character as to prefer deeds 
to words. 

Captain Butler has by this time received the three officers 
sent to aid him in the effort to stir the Akims to activity. 
The Akims will form our centre column of invasion, crossing 
the Prah midway between Captain Glover's force and our 
own — that is, if they can be persuaded to cross at all ; for I 
hear ominous reports of hanging back. The reader will 
remember Captain Butler's opinion of this tribe given some 
time since — an opinion formed, it is true, whilst desperately 
ill with fever, and after a hasty survey. " Give me Fantees 
for choice," exclaimed that officer to me, at Mansu. The 
Akims may be just brave enough to defend their own terri- 
tory, but they are the reverse of enterprising. 



2 39 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

THE CAMP AT THE PRAH. 

"Sixty Hours Asleep— A Sudden Awakening— Wood's Eegiment Transformed 
into Carriers — Gambling at Barraco — Prahsu — A Changed Scene — In- 
credible Loss amongst Engineers — Lord Gifford takes Command of the 
Scouts — The Ashantee Envoys; suicide and Burial of the Younger — 
Curious Custom — A Brush with the Scouts — The Deadlock on the Road. 
— Treachery of Kings and Chiefs — Death of a 2nd W.I. Soldier under his 
Load — The Naval Brigade at Work — Advance of Major Russell — The 
Envoys and their Cannibal Guard — The Harmattan Wind — Experiments 
in Gun Cotton with Major Home — Leopards on the Trail — Medical 
Comforts Arrive — Surgeon R. W. Lowe — The Alligator and the Elephant 
— Alarm of Fire — Kossu Savagery — A Snake under the Chair — Arrival 
of Mr. Kuhne — Colonel Webber crosses the Prah — Interview with Mr. 
Kuhne — Life of Prisoners in Coomassie — Preaching — Return of Aman- 
quattiah's Army — Its Losses — Fall of the Fetish Tree — Majestic Appear- 
ance of the King — The Queen Mother — Decline of the Ashantee Power 
— False Returns of Population — The Sacred Treasure — The War Record 
of Coomassie — Government a mere Despotism — The 42nd Regiment 
carries its Baggage — The 23rd recalled from Akr of ul— Treatment of 
Correspondents — Weariness of the Camp — Resolve to Start for Outposts. 

On the evening of the 31st December I went to sleep, 
and the events taking place from that time till the morn- 



240 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH 



ing of January 3rd remain in my recollection only as 
broken visions. I suffered no particular pain or incon- 
venience unless disturbed. In the afternoon of the 1st, 
during a lucid interval, I decided to get away from the 
coast, and gave orders accordingly, before dozing off. Next 
day, at 4 a.m., I was sleeping in my hammock. There 
abides a recollection of white faces and piled arms at 
Inquabim and Akroful, and I seem to have been conscious 
of gratitude to Mr. Commissary Hamilton, at Dunquah, 
who let me sleep on his bed whilst the men rested. 
Through to Yancoomassie I travelled in stupor, ate dinner, 
and went to sleep again. It was at 4 a.m. next morning 
that I woke up, rather suddenly. It had been a night 
march. Three miles from Mansu, my hammock split 
lengthwise, and laid me in the mud, a heap of pillows, 
pistols, pouches, and perplexity. It was a morning very 
wet and misty, even as wet and mist are estimated at 
Mansu. The day had not yet broken, and by lantern 
light, up to the ankle in mud, under the dripping trees, 
I pursued the task of t mending my hammock. Suddenly, 
whilst I stood over it, my boy Yarboro began to dance 
and stamp. Another instant — I felt some creature rush up 
my legs, up the tail of my puggeree, to my head, where it 
squatted. One mad demonstration sent puggeree and cap 
a-flying. They struck one of my naked boys in the chest, 
and he also began to dance and stamp. The creature no 
doubt, was some venomous spider of the largest size, who 



CLIMATE UNFIT FOR EUROPEANS. 



dropped first upon Yarboro, then ran to my head, and was 
pitched headlong against the third of us. Venomous he 
must have been, for Yarboro's leg and the carrier's 
chest were both inflamed by the mere touch. My clothes 
protected me. Thus, and by the fall aforesaid, I was 
awakened. 

At Mansu were found Mr. Commissary Nugent, slightly 
better than when I saw him last ; Mr. Richardson, just re- 
covering ; Lieutenant Winter, 33rd, very ill ; Lieutenant 
Graves down with dysentery. A lively and a hopeful camp it 
was under such circumstances. Mr. Commissary Elliot had 
not hitherto had time to fall ill, but now, when his responsi- 
bility was to some extent removed, he speedily gave way to 
an attack of the greatest virulence. What a country is this 
which comfortable journalists, who sit at home and write 
leaders, would have us retain ! There is a point, I take it, at 
which philanthropy becomes hateful cruelty, a crime before 
Heaven and men. That point is reached by those who insist 
upon our retention of this coast. No sanitary measures can 
make the country healthful. The most expensive and most 
efficient drainage would scarcely lower a death rate that 
stands at 25 per cent, per annum : one person in every four, 
that is, each year. It is proved by a thousand melancholy 
instances that we cannot live in the country. What ex- 
ceptions to this rule may be found are men of a constitu- 
tion most unusual in England. To send an official to West 
Africa is to send him to death. I would the people of Eng- 



242 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 



land could be induced to recollect this one axiom, and by it 
alone, with no other words, to answer the heartless arguments 
arranged by an unthinking journalist. It is urged, there are 
men who will risk the climate and do the necessary work — 
u One down, another comes on." This is true, for poverty is 
the strongest of all compelling powers. But does the magis- 
trate pass the plea of poverty when some wretch comes before 
him on charge of attempted suicide ? I assert that the cases 
are alike. Easier and simpler, nine times in ten, the death 
by prussic acid or a razor, and not more certain. Is it for 
Christian England to follow the Chinese example, and bribe a 
man to suffer death by promise of meagre pensions to his family ? 
This is no parallel case with that of officers called out for some 
dangerous service, as selfish fanatics attempt to argue. An 
officer goes to serve his country, and with that object he 
willingly risks existence. But our country has no interests 
to serve in West Africa, nor any duty on which she dares 
stake an English life. If we have a duty there, it is that of 
converting the heathen ; but would any man propose to order 
out a body of clergymen, or even to invite them on terms of 
this or nothing ? And the officer goes not to certain death, 
as does the poor fellow accepting an appointment at Sierra 
Leone or Cape Coast. A final point lies in the question of 
our utility. I have told something of the civilisation and 
good government we have established, and before closing this 
book the reader will find more evidence. Our occupation of 
the coast heretofore has been a failure ; to persevere in th e 



A REGIMENT TURNED CARRIERS. 



same course will be a crime. I have just seen it urged that 
we should cling to the Gold Coast because the Emperor 
Hadrian, 1600 years ago, abandoned his predecessor's con- 
quests in Central Asia. After all, this argument is as much 
to the point as any of Mr. Hanbury's or Mr. Ginx Jenkins'. 

At Mansu the news is of an embassy from the king. It 
consists of two nobles, each wearing a gold breastplate. We 
do not hear what propositions they brought, but Sir Garnet 
is taking time to answer. Russell's regiment, which I 
left at Barraco, crosses the river to-day or to-morrow. 
At Yancooinassie Assin, on the 4th, I saw the 2nd W.I. 
march in, carrying their own ammunition boxes. Barraco 
showed me a sight more extraordinary still next day. Whilst 
I sat at breakfast, all Wood's regiment came filing down 
from the front, the officers riding mules. It had been found 
needful to transform all their soldiers into carriers, and to 
employ combatant officers, attached to a fighting corps, into 
nigger drivers. They were to travel backwards and forwards, 
between Barraco and Prahsu, for a fortnight. Even the 
2nd W.I., who are regularly enrolled in her Majesty's service, 
were (c invited " to carry, and they did so. But as the tale 
goes on, it will be seen that the 42nd Highlanders had to do 
porter's work. It is true they volunteered, and the experi- 
ment was tried only once. It produced a startling result in 
fever. 

The carriers attached to this station w r ere positively bewil- 
dered by their sudden wealth. Having no idea of a legitimate 

r2 



244 THE CAMP AT THE PRAH. 

use to which it might be put, they plunged madly into gam- 
bling, Houssas and Kossus have always been addicted to this 
practice, but, in the history of the world, Fantees have now 
for the first time an opportunity to taste its joys. They seem 
to like it much. Every night a crowd assembles on the edge 
of the forest, and there, under the bright sky, by the glimmer 
of a lantern, they play some mysterious game which stirs 
their very blood. On the evening before I arrived, the Assins 
made such a row that the police were ordered to surround and 
arrest the gamblers. They did so — a bolt ensued — the lantern 
was kicked over ; and of all the piles of money, only four florins 
fell into the hands of justice. Ten shillings each the two 
headmen paid up as a fine. Meanwhile, the Kossus drum 
and dance, as they always do; and the Houssas, when 
present, make night hideous by ballads and drum-songs 
in honour of the moon, especially when she is "new." So 
far have the superstitions of Islam penetrated these negro 
hearts. 

Prahsu, January 6. 

It is but a fortnight since I described this place, but 
what a change in the scene ! Our gipsy camp under the trees 
around the half- obliterated redoubt of 1863, is transformed 
to a sylvan town, with streets mathematically laid out, 
barracks squared by the compass, tents designed on the 
purest principles of science, and palisadoes erected according 
to the dictates of philosophy. That cleared space I told 
of, which was a wilderness of bush piled up and smouldering, 



A CHANGED SCENE. 



245 



of fallen trunks, of mounds, pitfalls, and ancient waterways, 
is now a neat and elegant plaza, faced on one side by pretty 
huts. There dwell the General and his staff. On the other 
lie those vast sheds in which our countrymen will lodge. In 
one corner a small but sufficient space is allotted to the 
press, where we may build our shanties or pitch our tents 
as taste inclines, but always with subordination to the pure 
principles of science and the virtues of the rectangle. Along 
each side the plaza is a double row of tents, evidently 
pitched as an example of what may be done by an earnest 
and laborious student of the rectangular principle. Next to 
this sacred ground, descending to the river, is the engineer 
yard, where piles of bill- hooks, pyramids of axes, picks, cut- 
lasses, and testudines of spades, invite the wary native to his 
labour. Then one comes to the artillery camp, protected by 
& fence from the intrusion of such vulgar as care not to wear 
Rait's uniform, nor to profit by the instruction of Lieutenant 
Saunders. Most vigorously are such expelled if by an evil 
chance they wander near our pretty ordnance. Beyond this 
area lies the camp just vacated by Russell's regiment, gone to 
Attobiassi, and beyond this again that of Wood's regiment, 
all turned into carriers for a while. They are still much as 
I left them, save that the bush has been quite cleared away. 
The tents are pitched with some reference to the compass, 
and the mess huts are more ornamental. At the back of 
these a broad road runs, dividing the officers' quarter from 
the men's. Their sheds, now empty, line it to the left un- 



2 4 S THE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 

til it abruptly ceases on the bush. Very picturesque indeed 
is the little wide vista of forest thus opened. In the ruddy 
glow of sunset yesterday the shadows in its foliage were most 
deliciously aud coolly blue. At the back of the regimental 
sheds is another large square, neatly lined with huts and bar- 
racks, now occupied apparently by carriers and camp-fol- 
lowers ; and then the varied greens, white boles, smooth 
sweep of leaves, and smoky shadows of the mysterious forest. 
The bridge was finished yesterday, but not in time for the 
passage of Major RusselFs regiment, who were paddled over 
on a pontoon raft and in the big canoe left here by the 
Ashantees. The bridge stands on seven tressels, five of them 
a solid structure of logs. The river has fallen several feet 
in the dry weather that has now begun ; its current also has 
much slackened. But to bridge such a stream would be 
creditable work, with the means at Major Home's disposal, 
in any climate. How hard and how trying is the labour 
our engineers, officers and men alike go through, is most 
miserably proved by the list of their casualties. Major Home 
and Captain Buckle have been struck down again and again 
with fever. The former was lately invalided to Cape Coast, 
where he lay prostrate, but even in this extremity he retained 
such self-control as to quell that fretting over lost time which 
might have retarded his recovery. He gave our excellent staff- 
surgeon (Dr. M'Nalty) a limited time in which to cure him, 
with a warning that he should leave the castle on that day, 
well or ill. True to his word, he went back to the front at 



GREA T L OSS AMONGST ENGINEERS. 247 



the appointed time, and resumed all his accustomed energy. 
Of five officers, Major Home, Captain Buckle, Lieutenants 
Bell, Mann, and Skinner, only the first three are left in a 
state for work. Mr. Skinner has been here about a week, 
and is already obliged to return. Of Mr. Mann, to whom 
I have often referred as our road-maker, a most melancholy 
account reached me on arrival. This energetic and popular 
young officer is very ill with dysentery, the most dreaded of 
all complaints ; but I am happy to say that this morning's 
report is very much more favourable, and it is hoped he has 
turned the corner. Of six sergeants of Engineers who came 
out by the f Roquelle/ the steamer following the ' Ambriz/ 
one is dead, and four invalided to St. Helena. Six more 
came out by the next mail, the 1 Bonny/ of whom three have 
already given in ; but we may reasonably hope that with the 
departure of the rains our list of sick will gradually 
shorten. 

Lieutenant Grant has yielded the charge of the scouts of 
Lieutenant Lord Gifford, whom I frequently mentioned at the 
battle of Abrakrampa. Under his direction they have been re- 
organised, consisting now of six men from each company 
of Russell's regiment. A duty of great honour and of 
extraordinary peril is that voluntarily undertaken by Lord 
Gifford. The Ashantees are no mean enemy, and it is to 
be expected that they will show much greater enterprise in 
defending their own homes than in securing their foreign 
conquests. The first telegram addressed from this side of 



248 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH 



Mansu has arrived. It brings news that the 42nd are at a 
standstill, owing to the lack of carriers. The Ashantee 
envoys turn out to be no great personages. He with the 
gold breastplate appears to be one of the Court criers ; and 
the other, whose fate I shall shortly tell, was probably of less 
distinction. They brought down a letter, written by the 
Fantee prisoner, Dawson, addressed to Colonel Harley, whom 
they expected still to find governing the coast, and their sur- 
prise was not small to observe our camp and our preparations 
for invasion. The letter was one of inquiry. The king 
wished to know why white men are leading on his enemies — 
an abstract question which most people would be puzzled to 
answer. The king pointed out that in the victory his generals 
had gained at Faisowah — a victory not to be contested, for 
had he not the tent captured and Mr. Richmond's preserved 
milk safe in Coomassie ? — no attempt had been made to pur- 
sue, and this showed his good will ; but why did we attack 
him at all ? To this curious epistle Sir Garnet set himself 
to reply, and in the meanwhile the envoys were shown round 
the camp, and, amongst other things, the Gatling gun was 
fired in their honour. Our Naval Brigade, also, was pointed 
out as a first detachment of the white troops coming. The 
sights and the news were too much for the younger envoy, 
who shot himself the same night and was buried yesterday. 
It may be he feared some horrible fate, either at our hands 
or those of the king, or it is just possible he devoted himself 
to the fetish. Such deeds have been done by patriotic 



SUICIDE OF AN ASHANTEE ENVOY. 



249 



Ashantees. The elder ambassador was invited to be present 
at his funeral, and crossed the river for that purpose. He 
seemed greatly pleased to hear that we proposed paying such 
honour to the corpse, and conducted himself with the utmost 
propriety whilst the proceedings lasted. These Ashantees 
really seem to be a superior people. When the grave was 
dug, and the body placed therein, the survivor made a sign 
to pause. He stepped to the pit's mouth, looked at his 
friend awhile, then stooped, and solemnly cast a little earth 
upon the dead. In this he was imitated by the two chief 
persons of his suite. One of the bystanders asked if that 
was an Ashantee custom, or had it been learned from white 
men ? It was gravely replied to him that such had ever been 
fcne practice of their ancestors. In regard to the cause of 
death there are many reports. 

The surviving envoy and his suite, who were with the man, 
declare that they endeavoured to dissuade him, but in vain. 
They have it that he feared torture and death at our hands. 
However it be, he died by his own deed, having put his chin 
upon the muzzle of his gun. So bad was the powder, how- 
ever, that the slugs failed to pierce his skull. The survivor, 
a little, low fat man, left this morning with Sir Garnet's 
answer. Sailors were sent across some time before, and 
marched a mile or two inland to assure the messenger that 
white men had actually invaded Ashantee. Beyond the 
sailors he would come to Russell's regiment, encamped at 
Attobiassi, and beyond them again on his route lie the scouts 



250 



7 HE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 



— thirty or forty in number — under Lord Gifford. By the 
bye, his lordship's force drew the first blood last night, the 5th. 
They came upon a party of hostile scouts, and exchanged shots 
with them. An Ashantee was killed on the spot. Later in the 
afternoon, whilst our men were cutting bush for the bivouac, 
one was suddenly shot from the cover and badly hurt. We 
are expecting his return by the hammock sent for him. I 
must speak again of that sickening subject, the transport — 
sickening, I call it, not only as a subject that turns up ad 
nauseam, but as one disgusting to any man who wishes to 
believe that the Fantees are our black brothers. Things are 
approaching a deadlock ; the 23rd Regiment cannot land as 
yet, owing to the want of carriers; the 42nd, after getting as 
far as Yancoomassie-Eantee, is obliged to stop there an in- 
determinate time for the same reason ; so with the Rifles who 
stand still at Barraco and Yancoomassie-Assin. There is a 
block at each station on the road. Wood's regiment, which 
ought to be doing- important service at the front, has been 
obliged to lay down its arms and travel as a gang of carriers 
between Yancoomassie-Assin and Prahsu, with English 
officers at its head. The 2nd West India went down to-day 
to help ; and it is most creditable to this corps, which has 
fought gallantly throughout the war, that they undertook a 
duty of such degrading sort without a word of grumbling. 
The West Indians are not used to carry a load upon their 
heads any more than are white soldiers. They would suffer 
almost as much as would our men in such a case ; but these 



TREACHERY OF KINGS AND CHIEFS. 251 



fine fellows, who know themselves to have been so long de- 
spised and ridiculed, are ready for any service always. The 
other day, at Mansu, the detachment leaving there, observing 
the difficulty of our officers in transporting their ammunition, 
gallantly volunteered to carry it themselves, and did so, each 
lifting a box of 420 rounds, besides the sixty which was their 
proper load, and besides their rifles and equipments for heavy 
marching order. Is it not incredible, as it is infamous, that 
we should be reduced to such straits ? In this populous 
country, for which we have come to fight, the people will not 
take a step to help us, and chiefs and kings show as far as they 
dare their determination to give no aid. Out of a hundred 
instances in my note-book, I select one or two. The King of 
Assin at Prahsu was ordered to turn out his men under Sir 
Garnet's own eye. He sent in twenty-five. At 3 a.m. his 
camp was quietly surrounded, and a party went to search the 
huts. A bolt ensued, and at dawn 125 prisoners paraded 
whom he had wished to hide. The former King of Abra- 
krampa promised 600 men, and sent 150. At the news of his 
death these men were allowed to return, for " custom." When 
that ceremony was complete, they showed a laudable anxiety 
to get back to their duty. The new king dissuaded them. 
Said they, "We shall be punished." " Oh ! no," replied the 
ancient man who rules Abrakrampa councils. " We promised 
600 men and sent 150. Nothing was done to us, and 
nothing will be done to you." Of every king in the country 
such reports have been sent in. The other day, at Mansu, a 



-252 THE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 

petty chief was overheard, haranguing a party of carriers, 
telling them what fools they were to work, having now got 
plenty of money. Him the police seized, but the men 
promptly deserted the same night. There are two causes for 
this sudden and desperate break down. In the first place, 
men possess more money than ever was in Fantee land be- 
fore, and want to peddle with it, or to gamble it away at 
leisure. I cannot tell whether gambling existed on the coast 
before, nor what game they play at. But it is carried to 
an astonishing point now. Men gamble for silver in hat- 
fuls, and quarrel and shriek over their losses as only Fantees 
can shriek. In the second place, they are afraid to cross the 
?rah. So urgent is our strait that the 1st W.I. Regiment 
has been transformed into carriers this morning; the 2nd 
W.I. began its duties yesterday, and one man died right off 
under the unaccustomed labour. The Naval Brigade has 
received orders that it must provide for its own transport, 
making the fourth body of fighting men thus encumbered 
with double duty. Will England continue to protect such 
subjects as these of the Gold Coast? I greatly mistake my 
countrymen or there will be an unanimous outcry in favour of 
abandoning the Fantees to their manifest destiny. They are 
fit for nothing but slavery. We could wish them more 
merciful masters than the Ashantee, but when it comes to a 
choice between their slavery under the king, and our slavery 
under them, there is not room for hesitation. This delay 
may cost hundreds of lives. It is certain that the Ashantees 



UNWORTHINESS OF THE FANTEES. 



are not prepared for us. The Adansi Hills, that great 
strategic position, are still unoccupied. Twenty-four hours 
from this time of writing, King Koffee Kalcalli will know 
what is coming, and, had we been decently served, he might 
have learned within six hours that the Adansi Hills were 
seized, and his last hope gone, without a fight. This chance 
is now eruperilled. And for every life spent in the struggle, 
and they may be many, the Fantees are directly responsible. 
It is not only an act of king or chiefs. Each individual of 
the cowards is responsible, and the whole nation must answer 
for it. 

Sir Garnet has now seen for himself in the case of Assin 
what manner of people he is fighting for. Are these worthy 
of England's best blood and her hard-earned money ? Shall 
we again fight such a war for such a people ? Fight we must 
again in time, shorter or longer, if we continue to hold this 
coast. If, as seemed probable, the Ashantee king had col- 
lected all his power and been overthrown, perhaps his kingdom 
would have broken up, and all danger have disappeared. But 
it is likely now that he will be taken by surprise, will offer 
some feeble resistance, and retire to the bush behind Coo- 
massie, whither we cannot attempt to follow. At our retire- 
ment' he will be almost as strong as ever, and savage for 
vengeance. Shall we again attempt to make an expedition 
against him? All. England would cry out to forbid it. For 
brave and honest subjects, she would be ever ready to fight ; 
but cowardly, cheating, ungrateful slaves have a claim on no 



254 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH 



master. We have hitherto treated these Fantee allies as men ; 
there is but one opinion now in the expedition that policy has 
failed. Let us try Provost Marshals and a short shrift with 
king and chief to save our own lives and our own honour. 
When that is done leave the unworthy people to their fate ; 
ample store of arms we can give them easily ; but the courage 
to use them they will never possess. 

So unutterably dull is this camp ! As in the time before 
our world was created, " the evening and the morning are the 
day." Our items of news mostly relate to this friend's 
seizure and that's convalescence. Somewhat livelier is the 
evening. As the sun declines below the tree-tops, the Naval 
Brigade prepares for work. Presently the sailors may be seen 
and heard defiling across the bridge with measured tramp. On 
the other side they fall upon the forest with axe and cutlass, 
clearing brushwood and piling it to burn. It is intended to 
build a tete-du-pont at the other end of the bridge, and to 
arm it with that Gatling which has survived the perils of the 
road. The Naval Brigade is independent of carriers. Its 
own detachment to Kroomen from the ships amply suffices 
for all needs. The engineers arrived on the 8th. Dr. Turton 
is appointed Sanitary Officer of the expedition. Lord Gifford 
is reported to have now advanced twenty miles, nearly to 
the foot of the Adansi Hills. 

I have just been over the bridge to observe our sailors at 
work on the other side. Every morning, about 6.30, they 
go across with axe and cutlass, to clear the bush for our 



THE NAVAL BRIGADE AT WORK. 



2 55 



iete-du-pont. To see them working is a sight indeed ! On 
the ground, in the trees, clustering amongst the parasites, 
flat on their faces blowing at a fire, dragging logs, grubbing 
stumps, hacking, hewing, slashing, slicing, at it they go with 
a quaint earnestness on brow, and bearded lips ever ready to 
grin. They drag the cut bushes into a monstrous pile be- 
neath some tree all hung with creepers as with a mantle. 
Then they fire the green stuff, which won't burn, and scurry 
away for yet more fuel. So from day to day the great heap 
dries, under sun above and fire below, until, one night, it 
fairly catches and leaps up, a fiery pillar, a fountain of tossed 
flame, above the forest. Then they stand and cheer, and 
heap the furnace higher. The cut lianas roar as they flare 
upwards, enveloping the tortured tree in bands of fire, and 
burst above its crown with scarlet jets and eddies. Then how 
the sailors cheer ! Quick as the flame mounted, it exhausts 
itself, and dies in a torrent of burning sparks. Such illu- 
minations have we every night, thanks to our Naval Brigade, 
which works at eve and morn with indefatigable spirit. They 
have cleared a space near a hundred yards wide around the ram- 
part destined to defend the bridge. This work goes on slowly, 
under the exertions of native industry. Very picturesque 
looks our camp from the further side, now that the clearing of 
the bush allows one to get a view of it. The banks of the 
Prah are very high, as I have told, and they grow daily 
higher above the lessening stream, At morning time a dense 
mist rises and curls along the water, but it does not reach 



256 THE CAMP AT THE PR AH 

the upper ground. That gives off its own vapours, but they 
are slight, nothing like the heavy, noxious fogs of Mansu. 
These speedily rise and hang about the tree-tops, whilst 
between mist and mist the sun strikes in a horizontal ray, 
gilding the tents and sandy slope, burnishing the brown- 
thatched huts, and drawing a halo round the common 
objects of a camp, — the kegs and boxes, guns in row, shiver- 
ing groups of natives, officers striding past, and blue-clad 
levy at drill. Over all this part of the encampment is a 
canopy of leaves, for trees have not been felled except for 
road-making. No hills or incidents of nature make our 
background. Trees, trees, trees, of diverse colour and 
foliage, but always vividly green, shut out the prospect. 

8/^. Twenty-nine engineers arrived this morning, to the 
great delight of Major Home. His road-making has been 
stopped, like other needful enterprises, by the failure of the 
Transport; 320 men, who had been employed in this work 
from the very commencement, were handed over to the Con- 
trol Department this morning, and the engineer officers only 
hope they may see a few of them again. Major Russell, find- 
ing no enemy, pushed on five miles further yesterday ; Lord 
Gifford and his scouts beating in front without more opposi- 
tion. It is said, though I cannot find any authority for the 
rumour, that the seven men encountered on the evening of 
the 5th, one of whom was killed, were only the escort 
waiting for the Ashantee envoys. It seems curious, how- 
ever, that they should have stopped so far in the rear, if 



Q UESTION OF ASH ANTE E TA CTICS. 2 5 7 

ignorant that we occupied the ford. More probably they 
were armed villagers, looking after their crops. We are 
now beyond the country where every man bolts, leaving wife 
and children, at sight of an arrned stranger. Fighting may 
be expected whenever oar scouts meet roving parties of the 
inhabitants. But the opinion grows stronger every day that 
the Ashantees are too thoroughly surprised to offer serious 
resistance. Some sanguine persons persist in regarding 
all the signs vouchsafed to us as elaborate blinds. They 
believe that King Koffee knows all our proceedings and in- 
tentions, and that the envoys were sent down merely to 
deceive Sir Garnet, and tempt him to some rash move 
which would be destruction ; that the mis-direction of the 
letter to Colonel Harley made part of the same scheme ; 
and that the despair which apparently led the younger envoy 
to suicide was feigned to conceal an act of devotion to the 
fetish. These things are possible, but very improbable, as it 
seems to me. It is the interest of every chief who bore a 
part in the late calamities to deceive the king. An invariable 
rule of the Ashantees is to behead the man who bears bad 
tidings, and much more the general who has been defeated. 
Amanquattiah might well trust that accident would stop 
our progress, or we should give up the enterprise in despair ; 
he knows the Fantee character, and has the English yet to 
study. Nor does it appear to me by any means necessary 
that the Ashantee general himself should be acquainted 
with our intentions. He saw nothing of white troops during 



■*58 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH 



the retreat, and he finished the invasion with something very- 
like a victory. He probably feels quite equal to meeting 
any black force with the scratch levies that can be raised 
immediately around Coomassie. In fact, it is not easy to 
perceive how the news of our design should reach him on 
such authority as would command credence of a story so 
improbable. The Elminas, whatever their secret wish, are 
too thoroughly convinced of our power to attempt active 
disloyalty. We know what disregard the Ashantees show 
for scouting. How should Amanquattiah learn the truth ? 
Those who could tell him now are all closed up in Chamah, in 
Ahwoonah, and elsewhere. On these grounds I think it 
almost certain that the king is really ignorant of our pro- 
jected invasion, and has taken no steps to meet it. Doubly 
irritating, therefore, is that cowardly desertion of the Fantees 
which delays us at this critical moment. 

Several speeches and anecdotes are related of the envoys. 
The night of their arrival they were placed under guard of 
the Bonny men, the cannibals. So unequivocal were the 
demonstrations of these custodians, that the envoys, seriously 
alarmed, sent to Sir Garnet for a change. This was promptly 
accorded, but the Bonny men showed a reluctance to depart 
which almost resembled insubordination. They wanted to 
eat the gentlemen. At the funeral of that envoy who shot 
himself, the survivor gravely expressed much satisfaction that 
such decent honours should have been paid the deceased. On 
passing through the serried ranks of the Naval Brigade, which 



THE GENERAL'S DESPATCH. 



259 



had marched out two miles, as I have told, to impress his 
mind, the envoy showed much emotion. He said, "There is 
nothing but peace towards the white man in my king's heart. 
He has never had palaver with the English. He will be very 
grieved. Let the chief wait a week, and the captives in 
Coomassie shall be restored. But if you go on, there will 
be bloodshed." To this no answer was returned, of course, 
and the ambassador went his way gravely troubled* 

Sir Garnet is writing despatches for the mail, as is every 
one in camp, and I am just informed that the tone of his 
report is most cheerful. The General has a right to express 
satisfaction. That we are not further advanced, that the 
treachery of those we came to fight for should have delayed 
his plans at the moment of utmost importance, that one 
white regiment should have been forced to re-embark, and 
others should be unable to proceed, are miserable facts to 
chronicle. But, on the other side, to the unmixed credit of 
all officers engaged, it must be counted that we are where 
we are, that the protectorate is cleared, the Ashantees quailing 
in their homes, and the dreaded hills that defend them are 
about to be occupied, we hope, without striking a blow. 
Above all things be it noted that the unhealthy zone, ap- 
parently, is left behind. We have sickness in this camp, but 
it is light in character, and almost wholly confined to those 
who have to work in the sun. Even Lieutenant Mann, who 
suffered so grievously, has turned the corner, we hope, under 
this healthy climate, in which men' sleep under three 

s 2 



260 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 



blankets, and find them not too many. These things are 
ground for thankfulness, and on them doubtless Sir Garnet 
dwells in his despatch. 

Captain Nicol has just come down from the front. He 
reports that Lord Gifford has scouted eight miles beyond 
Essiaman, where Major Russell's regiment is at present 
stationed, without finding an enemy. The Adansi Hills 
are but ten miles further. 

Our officers here are too many to enumerate, and they still 
arrive daily. But I must not forget to mention the name of 
Major Bravo, of whom so many untrue and unworthy state- 
ments have been made. I have seen the letters in which 
Major Bravo has twice solicited relief from his duties as 
Commandant of the Castle, and permission to take the field 
with his regiment ; and I have seen the courteous replies in 
which Sir Garnet regretted to refuse these petitions. On the 
eve of action, however, he has mercifully been set free, and is 
hastening up. Captain Glover's great projects are now 
believed to be at an end. Poor man, he trusted Fantees, and 
he reaps the fruit. His 24,000 warriors have dwindled to 
1900, of whom 700 are Houssas. With this woeful 
force he is marching towards us. Captain Butler, warned 
by the example and by experience, will not undertake to 
estimate the Akims he will bring, whether by hundreds 
or thousands ; he will bring all he can, says prudent Captain 
Butler. We are now fairly across the Prah, though 
Major RusselFs regiment is only sent over to cut the 



EXPERIMENTS IN GUN-COTTON. 261 



broad road. A week to-day is the 15th, and then Ho ! for 
Coomassie ! 

Jan. \§th. One comfort we have always enjoyed in Prahsu 
up to this — the Harmattan wind. It is useless for residents 
in Cape Coast to set us an example of protecting themselves 
against it, of barring doors and windows with a shudder. The 
Harmattan may be as noxious as you please, but we perspiring 
wretches insist upon enjoying it. This wind comes from the 
Sahara, as is alleged. It is hot, but; not hotter than our 
common breezes. The peculiarity thereof lies in a dry and 
thirsty appetite, which licks up each drop of moisture. When 
the Harmattan blows we perspire no more, neither day nor 
night. The skin becomes comfortable — -at least that of new 
comers. ' Blessings on the desert wind/ we griffins cry, but 
the old residents of the coast miss their eternal vapour bath, 
and moan in predicting the sorrows to befall. 

Last night I accepted a cheerful invitation from Major 
Home, R.E., to go with him into the bush and observe some 
experiments in gun-cotton. The progress of our road is 
delayed by no obstacle so much as by the fallen trees 
which perpetually interrupt the old bush path. It had been 
energetically represented to Major Home, that a way of re- 
removing them quicker than axe-work, would be found in the 
use of gun-cotton, and he, though confident of his own theory, 
had determined to give these objectors a demonstration of 
their mistake. Assured that the tree to be experimented on 
lay close to the bridge head, I set out in slippers, in company 



262 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH 



with Colonel Wood, V.C., Dr. Fox, the operator himself, and: 
two other officers, with an engineer labourer. We crossed the 
bridge, and gaily entered the opposite forest. Over hill and 
dell, through swamp and brake and valley water-worn, we 
followed our guide — Dr. Fox and I in slippers, whilst mon- 
strous guinea worms environed us. Darker it grew and 
darker under shadow of the trees. We attempted to 
return, but Major Home was resolute, and we could not 
desert him. If need of arms had arisen, there was not even 
a pocket knife amongst us, as appeared when two miles had 
been tramped over. But noblesse oblige, and we followed on, 
I thinking to feel the guinea-worms in every part of my body. 
At length the chosen tree was reached, chosen by whom, or 
why, I know not. Holes were bored therein and plugged 
with gun-cotton, to which Home set fire in majestic calm. 
We, meanwhile, stood at a distance, up to mid leg in water. 
Of course the proposed results did not happen, but Major 
Home was not a bit elated by the proof of his discretion. 
Again and again, in different methods, the cotton was applied, 
with the effect of splitting and splintering, but not cutting the 
log. It was now very nearly dark, and fast indeed did we 
hasten home. Dr. Fox and I, marching in slippers, fell 
behind, and presently we heard a most uncomfortable snorting 
and grunting in the bush near by. " What's that ? " I asked 
of Dr. Fox, somewhat suddenly ; — for, when you read 
this, dear comrade of old travel, will you not remember 
sounds much the same, when you and I camped those 



ARRIVAL OF 'MEDICAL C0MF0R2S: 263 



pouring nights on the bleak gold mountains of Chontales, 
hard by Libertad ? I had not forgotten the puma's unmusical 
note, when on the foray, nor was a bit surprised to receive 
Dr. Fox's answer — " Leopards." In another moment, the 
reply came in grunts and purring, from our left hand. I take 
it those leopards were never more than fifty yards off, one on 
each side, and they kept company until we reached burning 
bush at the bridge head. I was rather pleased to feel the 
familiar timbers beneath my feet. 

To-day, twelve men of the Houssa Artillery, with one 
7 lb. gun, proceeded to the front under charge of Lieutenant 
Knox, R.A. On the same day there was great joy amongst 
the doctors to receive not less than 20 boxes of " medical 
comforts." On opening, 12 of them were found to contain 

" no matter what ! It was not what they sought.'' 

Fancy the rapidity with which the tale travelled. At Prahsu 
there are no less than twenty-one doctors, and the most 
Scotch amongst us enjoyed this joke. But the poor sick men 
probably failed to see it. 

11/^. The deadlock still continues. The Rifles remain im- 
movable at Barraco and Yancoomassie Assin ; the 42nd at 
Mansu and Yancoomassie Fan tee ; the 23rd on board ship. Nor 
are there satisfactory signs for the future. The whole trans- 
port service has fallen into disorder under the sudden and in- 
credible strain of wholesale desertion. Although the officers of 
Control have worked with most creditable energy, there is sure 
to be a breakdown in some quarter when difficulties reach a 



264 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 



certain point. To-day we have news of a great disappointment. 
With much exertion 600 carriers were raised here and sent 
down the road to Yancoomassie Assin to bring up the pro- 
visions supposed to be delayed there. Very angry indeed 
was the general to receive 600 boxes of ammunition, of which 
we have no urgent need, whilst Mansu is choked with pro- 
visions for want of which the advance has ceased. When 
stores will have accumulated to the extent of justifying a 
move, no one is bold enough to predict. But the utter idleness 
to which we are condemned is producing bad results. Sick- 
ness increases daily, though it has not yet reached a serious 
pitch. Some short time since there was a struggle amongst 
the doctors for every patient, but all can find employment 
now. How many medicos we have up here I am not prepared 
to estimate off-hand. More than sixty are attached to the 
expedition, which is a handsome allowance indeed. Staff 
Surgeon-Major Turton is the sanitary officer of the camp, and 
most energetic is he in removing the filth, the dead oxen, and 
the heap of putrid matter which formerly abounded, when all 
hands were busy with preparing for those white troops which 
have not yet arrived. Captain Butler has sent from his 
Akim camp, begging the services of a cc fighting doctor," one 
who can make himself useful in the field as well as the ambu- 
lance. Surgeon B. W. Lowe has been selected for this service, 
which all envy. I regret to tell that his science is already 
needed. Three officers are reported to be on their way hither 
invalided. Captains Paget and Brabazon and Lieutenant 



OUR ALLIGATOR. 



265 



Macgregor are the unfortunates. All are understood to be 
suffering from fever, which we begin to look upon as a trifling 
matter, so dreadful have been the cases of dysentery, from 
which disease, in its worst form, Capt. Huyshe is suffering. 
The three officers joined Captain Butler only a fortnight since, 
having made a boast of marching up at the rate of four miles 
an hour. This is the result of a feat more creditable to their 
heels than their heads. We hear little of serious sickness 
amongst the troops echeloned along the road. Many fell out 
on the march, suffering severely, but they appear to have 
speedily recovered. Nevertheless, idleness will try their 
strength. So serious is the crisis that bets begin to be offered 
about our getting to Coomassie at all. If we should fail, the 
people of England will remember to whose cowardice and 
treachery the failure is due. 

There is absolutely no news, and our only excitement lies 
in visiting the alligator, and receiving calls from the elephant. 
Our alligator dwells in a tub in Colonel Wood's lines. He 
is a fat little beast about two feet six long, captured by the 
gallant cannibals when peacefully observing their sanitary 
condition from the top of a bank. Though in early youth, he 
has evidently seen much of the world, and has deeply drunk 
of the waters of philosophy. The Prah must hold much of 
that science in solution, for to watch that youthful saurian is 
to be convinced that he has reached the highest grade. No 
neophyte could keep his eyes so very open, with never a wink, 
whilst dangers and wonders innumerable encompass him. 



266 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH 



Do what you will, the sublimity of his stoicism, the mute 
contempt he feels for all humanity, are not to be disturbed. 
Take him by the tail, he never glances round, nor heeds. 
Push a straw into his eye, he gently, mildly, closes the yellow 
orb, nor turns aside his devoted head; with patience in- 
exhaustible he lends himself to scientific investigation, 
nor expresses one spark of interest whether it be his 
snout or tail or tub-like belly that is prodded and discussed. 
But there is a depth of philosophy which approaches the 
stupid, and we have lately lost interest in the alligator. The 
elephant reduced him to nothingness yesterday. This 
welcome animal made his first appearance at midnight, in 
front of the West Indian lines. Heedless of the stupefied 
sentry, he descended to the river bed, and leisurely began his 
ablutions. The sentry did not know whether to fire or not, 
so called upon the experienced sergeant of the guard to explain 
his duty. The experience of the sergeant was not equal to 
the decision, and he, in his turn, appealed to his seniors in 
service. They, waking up, held a council of war, and it was 
speedily resolved that a personal inspection would alone enable 
them to fix a course. An adjournment was therefore made 
to the bank, and all the TV est Indians, roused by the contro- 
versy, crowded to the spot. There, dim in the mist, stood a 
monstrous creature, splashing like fifty fountains. Hot grew 
the argument, so hot indeed that in the midst of it came 
a louder splash, a rumbling, a crash of branches — and the 
gravamen vanished ! Next day, our previously peaceful camp 



DANGEROUS TREES. 



267 



divided in angry contentions, which are not yet stilled. There 
are those who stake their credit on the elephant pure, real, 
simple ; those who ridicule the beast as a mere hippopotamus ; 
those who swear it a rhinoceros ; those who scorn and sneer 
at elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus alike, and would 
have it that the entire regiment was misled by its West 
Indian imagination. The wise say nothing, and so secure the 
good will of all parties. 

\2th. The Ashantees, when at this camp, burnt and 
hacked the roots of many trees which did not actually fall. 
Their object was to hollow out the trunk and make canoes. 
We have found such in all stages of hasty manufacture. But 
the trees thus abandoned are a cause of considerable anxiety 
to those who dwell beneath their shadow. My confreres in 
the press-quarter don't at all appreciate the shelter of a cotton 
tree, superb in its dimensions, which overhangs their settle- 
ment. Its mighty trunk, eaten half through with fire, 
supports a crown of foliage broad as an English copse, at the 
height of a hundred and fifty feet. In the same manner was 
threatened the Naval Brigade; and last night, under the 
alarm of a rising wind, they all changed quarters by torch- 
light. This morning such a tree has actually fallen, with 
a crash so loud as to rouse the whole camp ; and we have 
now reached dimensions which make the perambulation 
quite a march. It would take the Engineers whole days 
of labour to remove these dangers ; and in this country the 
matter of time is one of life and death. So we put up with 



268 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 



rotten trees as a " chance of war/' and make jokes about 
them. Peril from fire also have we had to-day. Some of our 
multitudinous cooks lighted up a hut immediately behind the 
tent which I share with Dr. Turton. It blazed like fire- 
works igniting, and for a few moments there was serious danger 
to the camp. But from every quarter came doctors running, 
and in such legions did they muster, that hut and fire were 
down in twenty minutes, extinguished by sheer force of 
medical muscle. No one else assisted save a few Bonnys or 
Kossus. Alone the doctors saved the camp, and I sing their 
praises. Can we not afford to smile when scorners mutter 
anent the Capitol and its preservation? But there is some 
undeniable truth in that other remark of ill-disguised envy — 
that to say the doctors did it is to say that the whole camp 
assisted. We are all medicals at Prahsu. On meeting a 
stranger you address him as doctor, just as at Dunquah you 
addressed every native as king. We have few royal persons 
here. As a rule, on entering a strange camp, you ask, " Are 
there many kings about here ? " the same as in England you 
ask after partridges. Doctors Reide and Stafford, I regret to 
say, are suffering badly from fever; Captain Russell is laid up 
with boils in his feet, Captain Huyshe and Lieutenant Mann 
are severely ill of dysentery, and there is some sickness in the 
Naval Brigade. From the road we hear bad reports, especially 
of the Rifles. My poor friend Filliter, of Dunquah, is 
desperately ill at Barraco. 

Lieutenant Wauchope, 42nd, coming in from the front, 



KOSSU SA VAGERY. 



26$ 



reports Ashantees in force at the Adansi Hills, but I have 
reason to think the news is not accurate. Twenty-eight men 
of the 2nd W.I. went across this morning to join Major 
Russell. Dining with Colonel Wood, he told me a ghastly 
tale of Kossu savagery. After the unfortunate affair of 
November 27th, an Ashantee boy fell into the Kossu hands. 
Him they tied to a tree and cut to pieces, a Houssa looking 
on. When the mutilated body was discovered, this Houssa 
told what he had seen ; asked why he did not interfere, re- 
plied coolly, " I supposed it was done by order ! " It needs 
cases like this to remind those who are not in daily intercourse 
with the Kossus that these amusing and manly fellows are, 
after all, mere savages, and savages renowned and dreaded 
for their ferocity. Those who tortured the Ashantee boy — 
who was probably no Ashantee at all — could not be identi- 
fied. 

13th. Under the seat in Colonel Wood's mess-tent, where 
I dined last night in great cheerfulness and contentment, a 
snake has been this morning captured. The chances are 
it assisted without invitation at our pleasant dinner. 
The natives declare it is of a very poisonous species, 
but all savages in every country declare all snakes to be 
poisonous. 

Late last evening a letter from the king of Ashantee, 
carried by Mr. Kiihne, superintendent of mission factories, 
captured at Crepi, June 12th, 1869. He himself was de- 
tained by Major Russell, at Essiaman, for the night. All Sir 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 



Garnet's terms of peace are accepted, saving only the march 
to Coomassie. What those terms are is a secret which a 
general might wisely guard, as long as negotiations are still 
in progress. 

Mr. Kiihne himself came over this morning about eight 
o'clock, in a hammock sent for his use. He lay therein, 
looking deathly. A. number of officers, standing on the lofty 
bank above the bridge, took off their hats and welcomed the 
prisoner. He smiled feebly, and indeed the poor man 
appears to be unable to enjoy even his deliverance. All 
the morning he sat with the General, but I greatly doubt 
whether the information he had to give proved very 
valuable. 

200 men of the 2nd West India regiment crossed the river 
to-day under Colonel Webber, Captains Haynes and Grant, 
and Lieutenant de Barr. It is announced that the second act 
of the campaign will open on the 23rd, when Sir Garnet will 
be in a position to invade Ashantee. Colonel Wood's regi- 
ment, with E.ait's Houssa artillery, crosses on 15th. Captain 
Brabazon, feeling better as he travelled down, has turned his 
hammock round to rejoin Captain Butler, who lies, with his 
Akim army — fourteen in number, they say ! — about thirty- 
five miles to the east. Captain Glover is reported at Akro- 
pong. Lieutenant Bell, 2nd W.I., is " down " to-day — fever. 
More doctors are arriving, and it seems likely they will all 
find employment. There are not less than sixty attached to 
the expedition. About one-eighth of these are volunteers. 



INTERVIEW WITH MR. KUHNE. 271 



The remainder were "invited" to offer themselves — declined 
— and were ordered out. This night the sailors had a great 
bonfire and concert in front of their lines, at which the 
General and his staff, with Mr. Kiihne, assisted. The 
Ashantee boys, whom the latter has brought with him, con- 
ceived the notion that this festivity had special reference to 
them, reference of the most uncomfortable sort, for they ex- 
pected to be then and there cooked and eaten. 

\A:th. This morning, by permission, I had a short con- 
versation with the released prisoner, but it would have been 
cruelty to strain his politeness. In the evening I met him 
at dinner in the General's quarters, and had more free 
conversation. Mr. Kiihne knows nothing of the king's 
intention towards the other prisoners, Mr. Ramseyer, who 
who has a wife and two children and a French trader, 
Bonnat. He said they had been fairly treated according 
to Ashantee views, but his own allowance, for himself 
and two servants, was but dollars, £1 Os. 3d. each 
forty days. This barely sufficed for food. His clothes on 
coming in were scarcely fit to be so called, but a subscrip- 
tion amongst the staff has now made him decent. For 
eighteen months no word of European news had reached the 
captives ; up to that date they were allowed to receive the 
s Daily Telegraph/ They made furniture and built houses 
for the king, who has material reasons for regretting the 
necessity of giving them up. No objection was made to their 
preaching— all members of the Basle Mission preach, even 



272 



THE CAMP AT THE PRAH. 



though not ordained — and they received respectful attention 
from the audiences, but Mr. Kiihne has no hope that their 
exertions produced any serious effect. He thinks the king 
would have interfered at once had there been prospect of con- 
versions. The people listened in mere astonishment that white 
should be able to speak their language. Some said "the 
words were good/' but went no further. The missionaries and 
their French comrade were much harassed by sneaking dela- 
tions of the Fantee slaves who abound in Coomassie. These, 
to curry favour with the king by professions of care for his 
safety, told him all sorts of foolish lies ; as that the white 
men were building his new palace with wet bricks, so that it 
might fall and crush him. Koffee, however, has too much 
judgment to credit their false reports. He appears to be a 
king of sense. No affair of state was ever discussed in 
presence of the prisoners, nor of any other person not a 
member of the council. For this reason Mr. Kiihne has 
small information to give. He knows that Amanquattiah's 
army is disbanded, but cannot express any opinion as to the 
king's chance of raising another in time. There are no de- 
fenders on the road, however, except the guard of thirty men 
who keep our scouts in check. Perhaps by this time Lord 
Gifford has found out their numbers, and has driven them in. 
The road between the hills and Coomassie is described as very 
good, but fenced by bush of the densest character. There is 
no clear ground as far as the great market town of Serim, 
about ten days' journey, or 200 miles at least, beyond Coo- 



PRESERVATION OF REMAINS OF CHIEFS. 273 



massie."* Amanquattiah's army is beyond doubt disbanded. 
It marched into the capital without any order or ceremonial, 
but this is usual. The King gave a " dash " of 100 sheep 
and forty-four pereguin, about three ounces each, andexpresesd 
approbation of the campaign. The army marched from 
Ashantee with 40,000 warriors, according to the reports, of 
whom confessedly not more than 20,000 returned. The 
people of Coomassie are quite as much afraid of coast disease 
as are white men, and with as good reason apparently. Mr. 
Kiihne counted 279 boxes containing the bones of chiefs, 
brought home for burial, as the custom is. Besides these, at 
least a hundred skulls, preserved in the same way, lie about 
the bush around Abrakrampa. In regard to the military 
preparations made to receive us, if any, Mr. Kiihne is under 
engagement with the General to keep silence. But it is easy 
to perceive that he expects no organised resistance. I take it 
that he thinks some hot-headed chiefs may dash upon us, but 
that the king has neither power nor energy to do anything 
serious. He received the letter of Sir Garnet with stoicism, 
nor did the caboceers present indulge in such demonstrations 
as might have been expected. The date of the letter, January 
6th, produced a chilling sensation, for it showed a curious 
coincidence. When Sai Tooti, the founder of the Ashantee 
empire, fixed upon Coomassie as his capital, he rested under a 

* On this point I may possibly have misunderstood Mr. Kuhne. It is 
asserted that open country will be found one day's journey from Coomassie 
that is, ten days from Cape Coast. 

T 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 



tree whilst his temporary palace was a-building ; hence the 
name, which signifies "under a tree." The trunk thus 
honoured has become almost sacred in Ashantee eyes, and a 
strong superstition had grown up concerning it. On J anuary 
6th, having long been decayed, it fell, and dire prognostications 
were whispered. No one dares to touch it, and Mr. Kiihne 
assures us we shall find the immemorial tree lying across the 
street when we march in. Such an omen might alarm stouter 
hearts than have the Ashantees. So the king heard Sir 
Garnet's communication with decorum, and especially that 
part where it was told him how one envoy had shot himself. 
" Enough ! 33 he said, when the reader was translating Sir 
Garnet's explanation. " What is this the Amirado writes 
about ? The man is dead. Enough ! 33 It appears that 
this envoy shot himself, not for fear of the Gatling gun, but 
because he had used incautious words which would, he 
knew, cost him his head on returning. By the report of 
our informant King Koffee is about thirty-five years old, and 
has the true kingly air, though much seamed with small-pox. 
" You could not mistake him," says Mr. Kiihne, u though 
he were surrounded with chiefs. He has the eye of a 
king." But the savage luxury of his life, and the great 
hareem he keeps up, have sapped such energy as his 
appearance leads one to believe he must have had. His 
mother, to whom the throne belongs of right, and who 
chose this favourite son to fill her place, has great in- 
fluence over him. She is a prudent though a warlike 



THE SACRED TREASURE. 



275 



woman, and her power is likely to be used in favour of 
concession. In fact, Mr. Kiihne quite confirms the ac- 
count I wrote two months ago. The Ashantee empire 
is rapidly declining. Even the numbers of the popu- 
lation cannot increase under the terrible drain of sacrifice 
and war. The caboceers still profess to put into the field 
the same number of retainers as did their forefathers, 
fifty years since, but in reality they cannot muster much 
above the half. I find that Colonel Festing's prisoner, whose 
report I sent home in a former despatch, spoke truth about 
that king who answered the summons of war from Inkoranza, 
on the borders of the Sahara. Such a distant vassal did 
indeed march with the invaders, but his 10,000 men, of paper, 
were represented by only 1100 of flesh and blood. The 
magnificence described by Bowditch, if it ever existed, has 
dwindled with the decaying power of the state. The king 
has still his ornaments and regalia, which would make a pretty 
loot, but he is hard pushed for money sometimes, and his 
" dashes," or presents, become yearly meaner. The sacred 
treasure in Bantama, where the tombs of the kings lie, is 
supposed to be still intact, but Mr. Kiihne is not inclined to 
think it such a large sum as might be expected. At the out- 
break of every war, the king is allowed to draw upon this 
fund, but the amount so abstracted he is bound to restore. 
The question is whether this law has been strictly observed. 
In the market-place of Coomassie, stands a monstrous basin, 
of brass, wherein a pebble is solemnly deposited whenever the 

t 2 



276 THE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 



Ashantees go to fight. This basin is now so full that the 
stone commemorating their invasion of Fantee land had to be 
placed with the greatest care to avoid overthrowing the pile. 
Mr. Kiihne often thought, when passing this trophy, that a 
day might come when an English general would toss a rock 
upon the heap, and explode it like a shell. I think Sir Gar- 
net was struck with the idea. But the argument remains 
that if the Ashantees have made so many wars, and for each 
of them have drawn upon the sacred fund, without returning 
a strict account, the increase provided by successive deaths in 
the royal family may well have failed to keep the balance. 
But positive information on this subject is not forthcoming. 
Mr. Kiihne only professes to be guided by the distrust im- 
planted in his mind by five years' experience of the national 
character. As he says, " They are all politicians, and all 
liars ! " 

The constitution of the country appears to have undergone 
a change since Bowditch's day, if his information on the sub- 
ject may be relied on. The missionaries were jealously 
excluded from any knowledge of the inner court life, but they 
saw enough to satisfy themselves that no great family is now 
protected from the king's absolute will. The four hereditary 
councillors mentioned in Bowditch have disappeared, with 
their privileges and immunities. The king is now a despot, 
restrained only by his natural fear of a turbulent and warlike 
people. He raises and degrades from the highest to the 
lowest rank, at pleasure. Amanquattiah himself is a mere 



GENEROUS CONDUCT OF THE KING. 277 



creature of the king, whose ancestry no one knows, or, at 
least, troubles about. Koffee Kalealli, in fact, has a habit of 
appointing children to vacant " stools/ 5 and the proportion of 
caboceers under manhood is extraordinarily large. Perhaps 
he thus escapes some portion of the customary " dashes." 
Princes of the blood have some privileges of a rather indefinite 
nature, but they alone. The power of the king is uncon- 
trolled, save by fear of the populace, and a salutary recollec- 
tion of strong measures which his predecessors have suffered. 
To conclude the subject of Mr. Kuhne's interesting revela- 
tions, I am happy to add that he appears to be under little 
apprehenson for the fate of his fellow-captives. The king 
sent him away with a robe of the royal pattern, to in- 
sure respect on the road. He also gave freedom to his 
hammock-bearers, Fantee slaves, who, however, did not cease 
to grumble and revile until he got his Ashantee " boys " to 
give one of them a sound flogging ; by-the-bye, whatever 
strong language I have used, or others have used, about the 
Fantees, is outdone, I am happy to say, by the unbiassed 
report of this simple and devoted man, who had never seen 
any of the nation until he became a captive. He himself was 
released without any conditions. 

To-morrow, according to the original intention, we should 
have started for Coomassie. But in so designing, the general 
counted without his host, or rather, he counted upon his host, 
of Fantees. Their desertion left us for awhile without any 
decided date for the advance, but it is now fixed for the 23rd. 



278 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH 



Wood's regiment of native levies, Capt. Rait's battery of 
Houssa guns, and a reinforcement of engineers, leave to- 
morrow, but the first white troops only march in on the 18th. 
Lord Gifford, with his sixty scouts, is well in advance, and has 
touched the enemy about ten miles south of the famed Adansi 
Hills. In what force he is posted we have not yet any infor- 
mation, but he appears to be too strong to heed any demon- 
stration of scouts. Mr. Kiihne, indeed, reports that the 
post in front of the hill does not exceed thirty men, but 
Lord Gifford seems to think it considerably larger, though 
not sufficiently so to offer serious resistance. The 42nd 
Regiment has gallantly volunteered to carry its own baggage, 
and the offer is accepted. I cannot but fear, to judge by 
experience, that this economy of bearers may be bought too 
dear. Violent exertion, in this climate, rarely fails to bring 
on fever, as is too well shown by the case of officers arriving 
here. Few escape an indisposition more or less severe after 
their eight days' march. It commonly lasts about forty-eight 
hours. The labour and exposure of the 42nd men will be 
vastly more severe, for in daylight only can they carry a fifty 
pound load. The 23rd, it appears, landed, and reached Akro- 
ful, the second halt, before they received the order to re- 
embark. A curious incident is reported from thence. A 
private of the regiment was fired at in the bush. Who is to 
be accused of this deed? It is barely possible that two or 
three Ashantees may have been left behind in Amanquattiah's 
retreat, and are yet prowling about the bush. But the popular 



TREATMENT OF CORRESPONDENTS. 279 



voice denounces a Fantee. It Trill be observed that in too 
many cases I am obliged to preface my story with the hateful 
words "it is said." The fact is that no facilities at all are 
offered to correspondents in this war. We may pick up our 
information as we can, for the answer of the staff to any 
inquirer is invariably, " I don't know anything ! " Of personal 
courtesy there is abundance in most cases. We are allowed 
two servants and two bearers on the march, who draw rations, 
but with this assistance we could easily dispense. A little 
less politeness, and a little more information, is an exchange 
which correspondents would welcome. At the same time, a 
civilian might think it within the resources of military art to 
give both. As a matter of system, however, Sir Garnet dis- 
approves of correspondents. In this war he has an excellent 
opportunity of showing his abstract objection to them, for 
there never could be a case in which gossip would do so little 
harm. 

15th. Late last night the news came that Lord Giffordhad 
surprised the force of Ashantee scouts and driven them off in 
the greatest disorder. Ten guns were captured, and the entire 
body would have been made prisoners if a Fantee with Lord 
Gifford had not made a noise. Captains Glover and Butler 
are supposed to have crossed to-day with their respective forces. 
The Rifles should reach this camp on the 19th and 20th ; the 
42nd, with 100 men of the 23rd, on the 21st and 22nd. I 
have made up my mind to go across and see for myself the 
truth of these rumours that constantly come down to us. Too 



280 



THE CAMP AT THE PR AH. 



dreadful is the prospect of waiting another eight days here. 
Most sociable and pleasant is every doctor in camp, but the 
monotony of living as in the days before the Flood, becomes 
unendurable. We are sick of the muddy river racing by us, 
sick of the mists at dawn, the noonday heat, and creeping, 
smoky shadows of the eve. Cannibal plays delight us no more ; 
neither their war- rushes along the road at night, when fifty 
maniacs dash full speed, swords drawn, foaming at mouth, 
before our tents; — nor the war song of the Kossus, who 
scream and drum an awful challenge, to the chorus of 
" Dadema no go ! " with a fiend-like shake of laughter in the 
pauses. Sick we are of our own bank, its rectangular roads, 
big huts, sylvan squares, and tents. Sick of the other bank, 
mud fort, Ashantee huts, and all. Sick, beyond every other 
thing, of the everlasting trees that crowd and crush us in, 
mercilessly green, stifling. I, at least, can get away, and I go 
to-morrow. Wood's regiment and Rait's artillery duly started 
this morning, each man provided with four days' rations. To- 
day, it is said, GifFord will occupy the Adansi Hills if possible, 
and to-morrow Major Russell reinforces his scanty troop. My 
comrade of the tent, Dr. Turton, has deserted me, accompany- 
ing Colonel Wood. To-morrow night I also will be acquainted 
with the wonders of Ashantee ground. 



28l 



CHAPTEE IX. 

WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 

A Camp in the Forest — Distinctions between a Bivouac and a Picnic — Occupa- 
tion of Adansi Hill — Quisa abandoned — Fetishes — Attobiassi — Essiaman 
— Effumusu halt — Akrofoomuh — A Refugee — Orders to Advance — The 
King's Road — Troubles about Food — Colonel McLeod to the Front — 
Moynsey Camp— Colonel Wood there — Climb the Adansi Hill — Reflections 
upon the Climate — Neither Man nor Beast will live — Our Adansi Camp — 
Reports and Rumours — Quisa — The Joss-house — Handsome Ornamenta- 
tion — Flowers and Foliage in the Tropics — A Theory about the Brazilian 
Bee — The Remaining Prisoners pass through — News from Coomassie — 
Amanquattiah degraded — King of Mampon new Generalissimo — Human- 
ity of King Koffee — Royal Women of Ashantee — The Great Basin in the 
Market-place a Measure of Tribute — Former Oppressions of the Ashantees 
— The Attack of King Graman — Butler's Advance causing Alarm — War 
Chiefs Refuse to Fight Him — The General passes the Hill, with the Rifles 
Adventure of Captain Gordon — An Impaled Slave — Stupid Discourtesy 
at the Post-office, Cape Coast — The 42nd crosses — The Commander 
malingering — Farewell to the Adansi Camp. 

Paratomee Camp, January 20th. 

I believe there are still some ardent souls at home who 
look upon this war as a picnic excursion, only tempered in 
its pleasure by occasional attacks of illness. I wish those 



282 



WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



gentlemen could pass an hour with us in this camp. Their 
sense of the picturesque would be immensely gratified, it is 
true. I am travelling, at this moment, with 114 men of the 
2nd West India .Regiment, whose uniform, though wofully 
stained and tattered, has more taste than is usual in our 
military dress. We are encamped in the midst of a forest, on 
a gentle slope. Though the undergrowth has been cleared 
away, the trees remain, and between their mighty buttresses 
we have built sheds and bath-rooms. Like broken cordage 
of a wreck, the " vines " hang down, crooked and bare ; of 
every size they are, from twisted cables, thick as your body, 
to the long, straight tendrils which descend, fine as a whip, 
from giddy heights above. No tree puts out a branch until 
it overtops the thick-pressed canopy of saplings, and spreads 
its arms freely in the sunshine. But every trunk in sight is 
clothed with woven parasites, broad -leaved and lustrous, 
which spread thicker and thicker as they ascend, until, from a 
hundred and fifty feet aloft, they throw down suckers in 
search of food. Under shade of the wood we find the air 
cool enough. From time to time a shudder passes through 
the deep stillness, waving the slender ropes, and dropping on 
our heads a shower of leaves. The clearing round Colonel 
Webber's tent is occupied with fires and littered baggage and 
hammocks and shanties. Clothes are hanging to dry between 
the trees. Down to the left, before a monstrous cotton-tree 
lying prostrate, stand the tents of our West Indians. They 
are resting now after fatigue duty, mending clothes, burnishing 



A BIVOUAC NOT A PICNIC. 



283 



arms, smoking, and chatting. Very effective are their red 
tarbooshes against the green background. These elements of 
picnic pleasure have we, but where, where is the pigeon-pie, 
the foie gr as, the iced champagne, the claret cup? Where, 
if it comes to that, is the table-cloth, the plates and cutlery, 
the ingenious hampers, the — the ladies ? The hollow echo of 
our forest has no answer. But these are luxuries, not to be 
expected or desired in campaigning. Let us look for mere 
necessaries and be content. Down at the store-shed yonder, 
Lieutenant de Barr will readily tell you what food he has ; — 
observe that an officer in the front must take any service that 
is needed; to-day a paymaster, to-morrow in charge of trans- 
port, and then again distributor of commissariat. Mr. de 
Barr tells me he has to-day thirteen boxes of rice and two of 
preserved meat. No salt, no sugar, no potatoes, and no 
vegetables. There are two bottles of brandy in camp, no 
wine and no beer. No tea, nor coffee, nor cocoa. Is not 
this picnicing, with a vengeance? Last night, about mid- 
night, we had a desperate storm, lasting two or three hours, 
so heavy that no tents nor canopy of leaves would keep it out. 
Hence the display of kits and blankets about the camp. We 
are doing duty to-day in our wet clothes and boots; pray 
Heaven there be not a reckoning in dysentery to come. These 
are the luxuries of our excursion. Once, at Akrofoomuh, we 
have reached a camp and found absolutely nothing to eat in 
it. So the Fantees treat their defenders ; and I hope England 
will not be persuaded, by any foolish promises, to forget their 



284 



WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



conduct. Nothing is to be gained by holding this coast, un- 
less we re-people it. The trade is so ridiculously small that 
two London firms can absorb it nearly all. When the 
Ashantee empire is destroyed, as it probably will be, that 
trade must greatly diminish j for the Ashantees at least kept 
the peace, guarded the roads to the interior, and were them- 
selves our best customers. In fact, as is admitted in Cape 
Coast, the only trade worth mention was the Ashantee trade. 
What of that will remain, when anarchy rules throughout the 
wide tract of land now at peace under their subjection ? The 
interior commerce will soon diverge to the Dahomey route, 
by which already the greater portion of it passes. There is a 
future easy to divine before Whydah, Lagos, and the rivers. 
Cape Coast Castle has been steadily falling to ruin ever 
since the abolition of the slave-trade, whilst these others 
yearly progress. 

But I am wandering far from Paratomee camp. Thus 
far have we advanced into the bowels of the Ashantee 
land, without seeing more of the enemy than an occasional 
skull by the roadside, and a solitary slave escaped. Lord 
Gifford and his scouts have had all the fighting up to 
this, nor can one see any probability of livelier work to come. 
I am writing two miles and a half from the foot of the 
Adansi hills, which were occupied by Major Russell's force, 
without opposition, on the 16th. What accounts we had 
received of the difficulty to be expected in climbing these 
hills, of their steepness and the density of their vegetation, 



QUISA ABANDONED. 



are quite confirmed. Very soon I shall be able to 
report from observation what sort of barrier is this which 
the stupid Ashantees have given up without a blow; let 
it suffice that an officer who has made the ascent could 
only compare it to Vesuvius. Those who have looked down 
that crater will require no further witness to the difficulties 
overcome. Major Home and his party of engineers are now 
cutting a zigzag path up the precipice. Major Russell, after 
building three redoubts upon the crest, pushed on with his 
main body towards Quisa, where, in the meantime, a dialogue 
of the Homeric fashion had been exchanged between Lord 
Gifford's scouts and the " Captain's guard " stationed here to 
protect traders. The Ashantees met our scouts fearlessly, 
lifting the butt-end of their guns, and asked what they 
wanted. " To fight ! " replied Lord Gifford. " Impossible ! " 
exclaimed the enemy, " we have no palaver with white 
men ! " " Are you going to fight or not ? " asked Lord 
Gifford. "My king has sent me here for that purpose. 
What has your king sent you for ? " " Not to fight white 
men. We must go and ask him." "Be quick then," our 
scout master answered, "for I shall attack you in the morn- 
ing." So this amusing incident ended. The Ashantees 
tum-tummed all night, and frightened sleep if nothing else, 
but in the morning Quisa knew them no more, and, for the 
first time, an invading foot trod the soil of Ashantee. For it 
is to be remembered that although the Prah river is the 
acknowledged boundary of Fantee land, it is not the frontier 



286 WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



of Ashantee. As the Suevi in Csesar's day, so these warlike 
savages of Africa keep a cordon of waste ground, a no-man* s 
land, around their territory. On this side it is the district 
between the Prah and the Adansi range, whence the Assins 
were driven into our Protectorate long ago. This tract, be- 
tween thirty and thirty-five miles broad, has never been 
colonised by the conquerors, and through all that width there 
are but three hamlets, of which the largest has not six houses. 
That the Ashantees look upon the Adansi or Moynsey hills as 
their boundary has just been proved by the fetish charms 
found on the crest. When Major Russell came out on the 
top of the ridge, he found two white kids empaled alive, a 
cow's head, and a monkey's ; on a stick beside them was a 
saphi, or Arabic charm, invoking the direst curses on the in- 
vaders if they should dare to pass the spot. It is quite 
possible that the Quisa guard relied implicitly upon these 
goats and heads to repel the foe, but if they had meant fight- 
ing, I think they would have gathered to support the charm. 

Having seen the mail go, I left Prahsu at 8.40 a.m., on the 
16th, and, walking easily in the dense shade, reached Atto- 
biassi at 10.45. This distance is reckoned at 8 miles in the 
Itinerary, which is our best guide for the route. I put it at 5|, 
There is no small difference in the character of the country on 
this side. Hills are more frequent and steeper, dells more 
abrupt. All along, the road slopes to the eastward, and deep 
valleys abound. There is a long swamp about three miles 
from the river, wherein flourish palm oil trees, and yuccas, 



A TTOBIASSI AND ESSIAMAN. 



287 



■with a beautiful luxuriance. At Attobiassi, one sees the first 
Ashantee hut, and marks the improvement of the architecture. 
The walls are solidly built of wattle, not brick ; the flooring is 
raised two feet, carefully smoothed, stuccoed, and painted 
red. The outer wall, also painted up to a certain height, 
is stuccoed in deep panels, circles, and other devices. There 
is a centre room open all its width, which occupies nearly all 
the front; in the cases I have seen, however, it is barely 
eight feet by six. On either side are tiny dens, cupboards, 
almost, dimly lighted by loopholes, in which, I suppose, the 
women curl themselves to sleep. Accommodation, therefore, 
is most desperate scanty ; but these buildings we have seen 
-are mere farm huts, inhabited by the lower class. Their 
solidity of construction, and their ornament, better entitle 
them to be called houses than the extensive ruins which 
Fantee ambition has erected at Cape Coast. This village and 
others also is encompassed by fields of cane quite ten feet 
high, and so thick one cannot see six inches through the 
brake. I cannot learn that any use is made of them, unless 
they be employed in wattling the houses. I left Attobiassi, 
where is a post of Fantee police, at 11.50 a.m., and marched 
into Essiaman at 1.30 p.m. Here is another hamlet of six 
houses, perhaps, similar in construction to those already seen. 
We are particularly struck by the excellent thatching, which 
is much thicker and much better made than that we are used 
to. The little houses are separated by a tiny interval, not 
more than four feet certainly in width, and it is evident that 



288 WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



if Ashantee towns are similarly built, they offer extraordinary 
facilities for street fighting. However, our artillery and fire 
balls would soon make the narrow lanes untenable. Around 
the hamlet has been erected a solid stockade of heavy logs, 
well-planted in the earth, and eight feet high ; a stockade to 
keep out all the negroes of Africa. Here I found Colonel 
Webber with nearly two hundred men of the 2nd West India 
Regiment. Colonel Wood's Regiment had left for Akro- 
foomuh an hour before. Under the shade of india-rubber 
trees which abound in the forest, though the stupid natives 
have never yet revealed the fact to European traders, nor 
have themselves discovered any use for the sap — we lit big 
bonfires as night came on, and gathered round for chat. At 
6.35 a.m. next day, en route for Akrofoomuh. The road is 
better beyond Essiaman, though much broken by hills. 
Abandoned bivouacs and camps are frequent, and we several 
times passed human bones by the wayside. After two halts, 
reached Effumusu river, 9.30 a.m. This resting-place is set 
down in the Itinerary at nine and half miles ; we calculated 
it at eight only. If distances go on thus decreasing, we shall 
find ourselves at Coomassie without knowing it. The Effu- 
musu halt is in a charming spot. A pretty river here forms 
a rapid, pouring under and between great boulders of granite. 
All round, dwarf palms, and ferns, and graceful nameless 
brush, dip their soft foliage in the torrent. They sparkle 
like gem-work under the spray, and shake feathery heads the 
whole day through to quick pulsation of the water. Great 



AKROOFOOMUH. 



289 



bamboos form an arcade some yards above, and throw such 
cool, pellucid shadows as would tempt an anchorite to 
bathe. Whilst bathing, one of our party found a Snider 
cartridge, loaded. In a few moments not less than 
twenty-two lay on the bank. Some of our valuable levies 
in Wood's or Russell's Regiments had thus lightened their 
equipment. Starting again at 2 p.m., we reached Akrofoomuh, 
3.50. Here the stockade is of wattle only, with a breastwork, 
the entrance guarded by a stout frise. Inside is an excellent 
shed, forming quadrangle, in which the white troops will 
sleep. We found here the first refugee, a good-looking woman 
of Ahwoonah, who informs ns that King Koffee has sent a 
very handsome " dash " of gold to his rival of Agaman, 
begging assistance in his trouble. King Gaman or Agaman 
keeps the dash, but emphatically declines to help. She tells 
us also that there is great scarcity of food in Ashantee, owing 
to the absence of the men during the spring ; that most of 
the women have already left Coomassie, and that even males 
are scarce. Coomassie in the best seasons is a most expensive 
place, as M. Kiihne reports, and in time of scarcity the 
poorer folk desert it. But distress is now general throughout 
the country, and there appears to be little probability that 
Amanquattiah's disbanded force will be able, even if willing, 
to reassemble. 

At Akrofoomuh we had expected to halt forty-eight hours, 
and in that belief we began to set up tables and chairs built of 
palm leaves, tied together with vines. I took advantage of 



WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



the opportunity to send my carriers back to Prahsu for 
baggage left behind. In this camp there was not anything 
whatever to eat, until we had sent a fatigue party toEffumusu 
for rations. At 2 p.m. on the 18th, arrived a special runner 
from Head-quarters, directing Colonel Webber to push on im- 
mediately and occupy the " king's road." This path, of which 
we had heard much, turns the Adansi hills, leaving the direct 
route somewhere by Foomanah, and coming out, as the Guide 
tells us, about Dompoassi. By it we should have marched if 
hills had been occupied. There is much mystery about the 
king's road. It is supposed to be only used by the Ashantee 
monarch when sending out his troops for an invasion of 
Eantee land. Thus far he advances from Coomassie, makes 
fetish, cheers on his army, and returns to the three thousand 
odd bosoms of his household in peace. Our officers believe 
they have identified the mysterious path in a well-worn track 
that leads off to the left about half way between the Paratomee 
river and Moinsey, but the identification is not so well deter- 
mined as could be wished. Anyway, Colonel Webber was 
ordered on to defend this path, in case it should enter the 
Ashantee head to make a diversion in our rear. At 4.30 p.m. 
the march began, over ground that became more broken and 
hilly. Shortly after starting, we met a messenger from 
Colonel Wood, informing us that the spot chosen for the 
night's camp was unsuitable, and recommending a further 
stretch of one and a half mile to the bank of the Paratomee 
river. At 6.10 p.m., just at dark, we reached this place, and ' 



TROUBLES ABOUT FOOD. 



291 



found there Colonel Wood himself, with all his Regiment, 
Next morning, 19th, they started for Moinsey. 

The same day Captain Grant explored the path which we 
suppose to be the King's for some distance. Not far up he 
found a cross-road, with the remains of a camp lately occu- 
pied, several fishing lines, etc. This seems to oppose the 
common idea, and makes us doubtful whether we hold the 
true path. Captain Nicol, of the Hants militia, whom 
we had relieved at Akrofoomuh, came in to beg food for 
Major Russell. We had none to give, having just sent off 
a fatigue party of fifty men to get supplies for ourselves. 
Major Russell has occupied Quisa, and it is ascertained 
that Foomanah, where stands the palace of the King of 
Adansi, is abandoned. Our fatigue party came back without 
stores, for there are none at Akrofoomuh, and Colonel Web- 
ber found it needful to lend Major Russell 18 boxes of rice 
from the stores of his regiment. With these Captain Nicol 
returned in great joy. The 2nd W.I. Regiment has now 7 
officers and 211 men north of the Prah. 8 privates serve 
amongst Lord Gifford's scouts. Lieutenant Jones and 28 men 
are with Russell, 115 we have here, and 60, under Captain 
Haynes, garrison Akrofoomuh. We have but one man sick. 
11 officers and 284 men are scattered up and down the coast. 
Another section, under Lieutenant Pattison, has been de- 
spatched to the king's road. In the night very heavy rain 
fell, such as our little tentes d'abri are not calculated to resist, 
and most extremely uncomfortable we were. Colonel Web- 

u2 



2 9 2 WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 

ber and I gave up the struggle at last, and turned out in 
mackintosh coats and long boots. It was as much as human 
lungs could do to keep our pipes alight. 

Colonel McLeod, of the 42nd, is put in command of 
the advanced guard, consisting of Wood's, Russell's, and 
Webber's 2nd W.I. Regiment. Lieutenant Wauchope, 
42nd, is appointed Brigade Major. Lieutenant Clowes and 
Dr. Suttle passed through on their way to the front, and 
Lieutenant Aldridge, 95th, visited us again with his return- 
ing carriers. He reports 1000 Ashantees hanging round the 
outposts yesterday, who scattered on a demonstration from 
Lord Gifford. There are 5000 loads of food at Essiaman 
whilst we are almost starving"; 25 cases of sausages went 
through our camp to-day for Russell's regiment. It was 
seriously debated by Colonel Webber whether he would not 
be justified in stopping them. We have nothing but salt 
pork, not even biscuit. 

21st. This morning Captain Bromhead, of Russell's 
regiment, brought us the intelligence that the new 
Brigadier, Colonel McLeod, might be expected immediately. 
This announcement produced a panic, every officer bolting 
away to dress. Our picnic costume is unusually easy. In 
due time he arrived, as did Lieutenant Knox, R.A., and long 
trains of engineer and artillery stores. The General is 
expected to pass through to-morrow, four days earlier than 
had been announced. Captain Huyshe is dead, delirious. 
A medical court has invalided Lieutenant Bell. Lieutenant 



MOYNSEY CAMP. 



293 



Mann, R.E., is convalescent. In the afternoon I left Para- 
tomee, in company with Captain Playre, who is appointed 
to the Transport service. In an hour and a half s walk we 
passed many bivouacs, both of Ashantees and of our own 
men. Streams are much more rapid in this hilly region, and 
they bubble through the fringing ferns as clear and merry as 
in some Scotch glen ; but the forest springs not less dense. 
We have given up all hope of escaping the eternal shadow of 
the trees. 

At 4 p.m. reached Moynsey camp, at foot of the Adansi 
hills. I wished to climb these famous heights at once, but 
one view of the ascending path cooled all my ardour. Colonel 
Wood's regiment were encamped on the bank of a stream, 
immediately below the stockade erected to defend this foot of 
the hill. Here, in tents and huts of plantain-leaves, they 
were awaiting the General's arrival. Ten minutes' walk 
through a narrow bush path took one to the village of 
Moynsey, deserted now, and half-levelled. The houses were 
small, but some of them had a great deal of ornament. The 
chief's house stood conspicuous, as usual, with arabesques of 
stucco on its front, and the customary tree devoted to the 
fetish. There was some fresh blood about it when first 
entered, whether human or other is not known. Lord 
Gifford, if truth be told, has had some curious experiences 
of fetish worship. It is said that the great prophet of this 
country showed himself at top of the Adansi hill when 
Gifford was laboriously climbing up, and solemnly devoted 



2 9 4 



WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD, 



us all to perdition. The prophet's name is Suleiman r 
evidence of his Arabic origin or lore. Captain Rait is unwell, 
but not seriously, we hope. He would indeed be a loss to the 
expedition. 

On top of the Adansi hill, January 22. 

Most decidedly and emphatically this land was not de- 
signed for human occupation. A black skin and a negro's con- 
stitution may make existence tolerable, but safe it cannot be for 
black or white. Tf your servants get caught in a shower, they 
incontinently have fever. Feed them on decent and whole- 
some food, the change brings on dysentery. They have 
guinea-worm on an average twice a year each. Medicine of 
one sort or another is a necessity of life. Foul diseases, for 
which they have no remedy, consume a quarter of the popu- 
lation ; out of 350 carrier s, I have seen thirty dismissed as 
useless at one time on the daily parade, and be sure no man 
is excused unless the necessity be indisputable. I have just 
had painful proof of my theory. Of seven hammock-men 
sent to Prahsu, three have fallen sick on the road. Nor is 
there any suspicion of " malingering." In the first place, 
they have received no wages since the 1st inst., and, in the 
second, their absence imposes treble duty on those remaining, 
who have to carry my baggage in two journeys instead of one. 
Perhaps my readers may think that even that irresponsible 
person, a special correspondent, rather abuses his privilege in 
occupying eight bearers, but it must be borne in mind that 
three of these are engaged in carrying food for themselves 



SICKNESS AND DEATH. 



295 



and their companions. A man whose movements are so 
erratic as a Special's should be, dare not travel without some 
small store of provisions, and these, with tent, bed, port- 
manteau, and cooking utensils will not pack in less than five 
loads of fifty pounds each. But enough of personal matters; 
I only wish to show by an example how unsuited is this clime 
to all human life. We have just had a terrible reminder of 
the uncertainty in which we whites exist in the death of 
Captain Huyshe. He succumbed to dysentery on the 
evening of the 18th. By last mail I gave a cheering 
account of improved health amongst us, but expressed a fear 
that idleness might work a change. We hear of much sick- 
ness. The Naval Brigade is reported to have fifty men unfit 
for duty. The Colonel and Major of the Bifles are both 
unwell ; Major Maclean is invalided to Cape Coast ; the Hon. 
Mr. Wood, A.D.C., is suffering ; and considerable illness 
prevails amongst both regiments on the road. I am reminded 
that of twenty-eight officers who came out by the c Ambriz/ 
one, Lieutenant Wilmot, has fallen in action, Captain Huyshe 
and Lieutenants Townsend and Charteris are dead, Colonel 
McNeil and Captain Godwin are wounded and sent home, 
Captains Gordon and MacAlmont are invalided. Eight 
officers lost to service out of twenty- eight is a terrible per- 
centage, for, in any other country, Colonel McNiel and 
Captain Godwin could have recovered of their wounds 
in time to return to duty. Of the officers and non- 
commissioned officers belonging to the 2nd W.I. regiment, 



296 WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



which landed in June last, but one officer and two sergeants 
remain. 

Adansi. 

But I have a more pleasing prospect to describe, a prospect 
indeed as sunny and beautiful as ever called up a traveller's 
enthusiasm. After a " pumping " climb I mastered the Adansi 
hill this morning, and found myself once more a guest in the 
advanced post of Colonel Wood's regiment, of which the main 
body is encamped down below, beside the village of Moinsey. 
The height of this hill has not yet been properly measured, 
and opinions vary between 1000 and 1500 feet. Whichever 
be right, it is about the steepest climb, for such a short 
distance, that any of us have experienced, although Major 
Home and his engineers have laboriously cut a zigzag all up 
the hillside. But even here the everlasting forest prevails. 
When Lieutenants Richmond and Woodgate went up with 
their company to build a redoubt, the thickness of the bush 
forbade any view whatever. By persistent hacking at the 
undergrowth, by felling the smaller trees, and keeping up 
perpetual fires, they have cleared a considerable space upon 
the crest, and exposed a charming view. On either side rise 
loftier hills, clothed in green from base to summit. Very far 
off, in the misty distance beyond Coomassie, is a faint shadow 
of mountains. The level between, through which lies our 
road, is beheld through breaks of foliage exactly like that 
affectioned by the earliest of Italian painters. Giorgone 
might have studied his tree effects, looking like bunches of 



ON THE AD ANSI HILL, 



297 



green fingers, from this spot. The plain lies misty and vague ; 
its tones of delicate verdure fading in the distance to a golden 
haze. High above the forest level uprise the pale green 
crowns of cotton trees, disdainful of lower growth. Creepers 
drop like a brown waterfall down the trees yet standing. 
Great ruffs of fern encircle their branches, or hang their 
leaves, like stag-horns, from the topmost bough, A few trees 
bear a crown of blossom, scarlet or pink, but not to match, in 
mass or beauty, the brilliant garden of Fantee land. Animal 
life, for all we see of it, might not exist at all in this country. 
We hear birds and beasts sometimes, sometimes we see 
parrots fly overhead, at a distance to skim the tallest boughs, 
but few of us have beheld a creature that runs or flies, except 
the insects. I meditate a short digression on the creeping 
things of Africa, in some pause of the campaign. It is 
sufficient now to say that no country in the world can compare 
with this for variety and numbers of its insects. 

The chances of a fight are again looking up. The Ashantees 
have been seen in force beyond Foomanah, about three and 
a half miles away. That large village, however, is abandoned, 
as is Quisa, a mile and a half from this. Both of these are 
handsome villages, larger than any in Fantee land, much 
better built, and more civilised in every way. At Quisa are 
the advanced posts at present, under Major Russell. The 
General has again changed his plans, in consequence, I believe, 
of increasing sickness down the road, and the unexpected 
improvement in the transport service, which, as all admit, 



298 



WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



is due to the great activity of Colonel Colley. The judg- 
ment and organising power of this gentleman are extra- 
ordinary. Sir Garnet left Prahsu with the Naval Brigade 
on the 19th, instead of the 23rd, as intended. We 
are hourly expecting him on the hill. More fetishes 
and charms have been discovered on the route by which 
we advance; one, a miserable slave, with a wooden mus- 
ket nailed between his hands, shockingly mutilated. 
Colonel Macleod, of the 42nd, is appointed brigadier, and 
commands the advanced troops, Russell's, Wood's, and 
Colonel Webber's 2nd West India Regiment. We hear that 
a halt of seven days at least will be made at Quisa, with the 
view of establishing a great depot there. Of Glover's and 
Butler's movements we know nothing at the front, but I am 
happy to say that by latest advices Captain Brabazon had so 
recovered from his fever as to return to duty. 

23rd. Last evening I walked over to Quisa, where Major 
Russell and his regiment are stationed. There is a small post 
on the road down held by Captain Methuen and Lieutenant 
Douglas with 50 Bonny cannibals. This side the hill is 
much shorter and easier of ascent than the other. Quisa 
enjoys a delightful climate. A winding mountain stream 
follows the road on one's left hand, and the noise of its frequent 
cascades seems to cool the air. Quisa had probably not less 
than 1500 inhabitants. Some of the houses in it are 
curious, and one, which we call the joss house, is really hand- 
some. Its walls are covered with ornament in bold relief,. 



QUISA. 



299 



and the nooks and niches — all most scrupulously clean and 
in, perfect repair — give it an appearance quite picturesque. 
On the right, on entering, is the fetish niche, where was 
found much curious rubbish, such as egg shells strung together, 
and bones and sticks. On the left is an open chamber,, 
reached by two steps, just large enough for a bed. One side 
of the quadrangle is occupied by a larger alcove, divided in 
the midst by two arabesque columns which might have come 
from the Moorish Court at Sydenham. There are no closed 
chambers. The Ashantees are evidently a people who live 
in the open air. When first entered there was a good deal 
of blood about the place, believed to be that of animals. 
Some loot the Houssas obtained, of which the most valuable 
consisted of ivory. Lord Gifford, who is temporarily 
stationed here with his scouts, secured a number of hand- 
some "pegs," or tusks of the she elephant. I am most 
happy to tell that Lord Gifford is in perfect health, nor has 
he suffered a day's sickness since he began the dangerous 
and fatiguing duty so excellently performed. All Russell's 
regiment was preparing for an advance to Foomanah to-day, 
which has duly taken place. The indefatigable Major Home, 
R.E., not to be repressed, has already carried his road 
beyond our most advanced posts. Captain Buller has just 
ridden through our camp, and announced that he has been 
three and a half miles beyond Foomanah without seeing 
sign of an enemy. It is believed, however, that the 
inhabitants of these villages have not fled far. Our 



WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



scouts and foraging parties continually come across their 
tracks. By the bye, Dr. Turton informs me, after careful 
measurement, that this hill rises 1540 feet above the sea, of 
which about 600 is that desperately deep ascent which lands 
one at the top without a puff left in one's body. The General 
and his staff paid us a visit last evening, and partook of tea 
before returning to Moinsey. The Naval Brigade, reduced 
to two hundred men, and under a new commander, Captain 
Grubbe, of the ' Tamar/ marched through early this morning, 
Captain Blake being invalided. The first detachment of 
the Rifles reached Moinsey to-day, and will probably cross 
the hill to-morrow. They have lost 77 men, but no 
deaths. Hon. Mr. Wood, A.D.C., almost abandons the 
hope of reaching Coomassie. Two hundred men of the 
23rd, besides the hundred selected, were ordered yester- 
day to Prahsu to fill up vacancies. The king having returned 
no answer to Sir Garnet's letter, fighting is expected, and 
great precautions will be used in the advance. All the white 
troops rendezvous at Quisa, and will keep together. Rus- 
sell's and Wood's native regiments form the advance guard, 

it 

with perhaps Colonel Webber's 2nd West India. These 
march along the king's road, to ensure our left flank ; 
and the company of Wood's regiment remaining at Moinsey 
will, I hear, cut a road for themselves between our path and 
the king's road. If there be any Ashantees hanging about 
this hill, they will probably be discovered by one or other 
force. The moon has begun to be of service in night march- 



FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE IN THE TROPICS. 301 



ing. Rait's Houssa Artillery passed us to-day, and the 
officers stopped, as usual, for tea. We keep a sort of cara- 
vanserai on this hill. Quisa is only a mile on, and Foo- 
raanah a mile and a half. In such cool and pleasant quarters 
I propose to remain until the advance takes place, for to get 
ill in this crisis would be heart-breaking. 

In my absence the General and all his staff had paid our 
mountain bivouac a visit. Lieutenant Richmond tells me 
our landscape was looking its best in their honour, and its 
best is very beautiful. There is a tenderness of colour in 
these Tropic woods, a gentle variety of tones, which we 
never lind in Europe when trees have their full leaf. The 
reason lies in this : all our verdure breaks out at once, or 
nearly so. The difference in time of foliage between the 
earliest tree and the latest is but a few days. In these 
countries it is not so. The common notion makes all 
tropical trees evergreen. I remember once hearing an 
ingenious theory, founded on deduction, touching the in- 
stinct of bees. Said my friend, circumstantially, " When 
the Portuguese carried bees to Brazil, the insects did their 
work in storing honey, with the accustomed industry. For 
several generations they made magnificent combs and filled 
them bravely. But in process of time the little workmen 
discovered that flowers bloomed all the year round, and 
that it was unnecessary to store up food for the winter. 
Henceforth they took to living from hand to mouth. Is 
not this a curious example of instinct ? " Curious it would 



3Q2 WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



be if true. My friend extracted the instance from his own 
moral consciousness. As a matter of fact, flowers do not 
bloom all the year round anywhere, and there are no bees 
more industrious than those of the Tropics. Trees are not 
evergreen in hot climates. One drops its leaves at the time 
when a neighbour, perhaps, is budding, and another shows 
its utmost spread of foliage. Hence arises the delicacy of 
colour which one admires so much in looking over a forest 
in the Tropics. But in this country, the sight is not to be be- 
held except by expenditure of much toil. Here is especially 
the case to say, " One can't see the wood for the trees." 

Last night, in the darkest and stillest hour, Mr. Richmond 
and I were both awakened by a sound as of some great gun 
fired. Turning out, we found the sentry ^fast asleep. The 
noise may have been caused by a falling tree, or it may 
have been a device of the fetish priest, Suleiman. He still 
hangs about the hill, as is believed, fearing to return to 
Coomassie, after the failure of his incantations. Lieutenant 
Richmond is feverish, and this misfortune somewhat recon- 
ciles him to the disastrous result of his late " toss " with 
his comrade Woodgate. Only one of the pair can be allowed 
to move from hence, and Colonel Wood kindly allowed them 
to decide the question for themselves. By the ordeal of the 
shilling, Lieutenant Woodgate accompanies his regiment, 
and Lieutenant Richmond stays behind to nurse his 
fever. 

24^. We have just had a sensation, in the arrival of the 



NEWS FROM COOMASSIE. 



captive missionaries. They carae through this camp — M. 
Ramseyer, with his wife and two babies, and M. Bonnat. 
Lieutenant Grant, 6th regiment, had them in charge, and 
very amusing were his efforts to carry out an imperative order 
forbidding them to hold intercourse with any one. The poor 
people were sadly in want of water and of that cheering 
beverage which we dispense every fifteen minutes to passing 
strangers. Partaking of this refreshment they got rather 
dispersed, and Mr. Grant forthwith took upon him the 
appearance of a sheep dog, whose charge is straying amidst 
foreign flocks ; but in very truth these gentlemen whom we 
call missionaries — M. Ramseyer is not ordained, and M. 
Bonnat is merely a trader — have nothing important to tell. 
They doubtless possess the material for an excellent and 
exhaustive work upon the laws, police, manners, customs, and 
government of the Ashantee kingdom. But of those matters 
immediately interesting, which come within the view of a 
newspaper, they are quite ignorant. A single fact of 
importance M. Bonnat brought down, one, however, which 
will soon have lost its value. The King observed to him 
privately that if the white men were in the market- 
place he would not fight them. If the white men got so 
far, Koffee Kalcalli would be prudent to leave them 
alone. On the other hand, he tells us that the chiefs went 
out on Monday last, the 19th, to collect their men for a fight. 
We learn also for a certain fact that Amanquattiah was not 
favourably received by the King. The forty-four periguin of 



WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



gold , the sheep and salt given by him to the returning army, 
were not marks of approbation. It appears an imperative 
order was sent down that no man should retire further after 
crossing the Prah, but await events, guarding the north bank. 
This order was simply ignored, and the King imposed a heavy 
fine upon his disobedient chieftains. Amanquattiah himself 
suffered the loss of his " stool/' or rank, and the King of 
Mampon is appointed Generalissimo in his stead. The new 
commander is strongly opposed to further hostilities. He led 
the left wing of the invading army, and was present at the 
battle of Elmina. After receipt of Sir Garnet Wolscley's 
first letter, when he learned that the white soldiers were actu- 
ally coming, Koffee Kalcalli doubled the fine upon those who 
had brought things to this pass. In his rescript to the General, 
he laid all the blame upon Amanquattiah and his advisers, 
declaring that the late commander should pay the whole 
indemnity. What the amount of this may be I cannot 
tell, but the released prisoners do not regard the King's 
promise as simply absurd. They declare that Amanquattiah 
is immensely rich, not in gold only, but in slaves. M. Bonnat 
has volunteered to accompany the expedition, and I believe his 
offer is accepted. 

It appears to be quite certain that King Koffee is personally 
opposed to the massacres that constantly go on in his capital. 
Mr. Kiihne told me that he caused his umbrella to be slanted 
at the moment of decapitation, and I learn from M. 
Ramseyer that he has summarily stopped several "customs" 



FORMER OPPRESSIONS OF ASHANTEES. 305 



since these troubles began. Only seven wretches lost their 
heads to commemorate the fate of the fetish tree, and a great 
Ashantee chief went to his grave with but four murdered 
attendants to wait on him. In both cases the king inter- 
fered. But he appears too fond of his hareem to undertake 
vigorous action. The royal women of Ashantee are reported 
by the missionaries to be really handsome, with features of a 
higher class than the negro. It may very well be that a 
large mixture of Arab blood is to be found amongst the 
chiefs. 

There is always a scarcity of animal food in Coomassie, but 
even grain has reached famine prices now. Beef comes to about 
9d. the fib.; mutton, Is. The great basin in the market- 
place, of which Mr. Kiihne told us, — wherein is placed a 
pebble when the king goes to war, — commemorates the time 
when these spirited Ashantees were slaves of Deukera. It is 
the tradition that the contents of this basin made the yearly 
tribute of gold dust paid to Deukera. That potentate, how- 
ever, grew too insolent in his exactions. He demanded the 
first or chief wife from every head man in Ashantee, where- 
upon the people rose and crushed their master. 

The missionaries heard in Coomassie that report about 
an attack from the north-west, conducted by King Gaman. 
They declare there is little powder in the capital, although the 
royal cellars have lately been filled to overflowing by a convoy 
of rum from Assinee. Captain Butler's advance with the 
Akims is causing some alarm. The province through which 



306 



WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



goes his route sent pressing messages to the king for aid. He 
sent them a few kegs of powder, and ordered down three 
chiefs, one after another, to command the army. All refused, 
alleging that " The battle yonder was lost." They wanted to 
fight the white men if to fight at all. 

The whole battalion of the Rifles, reduced to 580 rank and 
file, crossed the hill early this morning. They leave 77 
sick men on the road, but none of them are in a state to cause 
anxiety. The General and his staff, with Commodore Hewitt, 
accompanied them, and we entertained all the party at tea. 
Sir Garnet was most courteous and communicative, as 
always. To meet the General, much more to dine with 
him, signifies much " copy 33 for the journalist. Colonel 
Wood's regiment passed through about nine a.m. The 
Rifles halt at Foomanah; Colonel Wood goes on to Dom- 
poassi, a small town 3 J miles beyond ; our scouts having 
been yet further — as far as Kiangboassu. They report 
that the chief of the Adansi district lies on the left flank of 
our road with his force of regular soldiers and armed refugees 
from Quisa and Foomanah. He is supposed to have some 
hundreds of men. 

Captain Gordon, 84th Regiment, better known under 
his old style of Lieutenant Gordon, 98th, has had a curious 
adventure. Whilst supporting the party of scouts, his 
Houssas came to a grove of plantains, where they begged per- 
mission to do a little foraging. Captain Gordon allowed a 
half-dozen to leave the ranks for this purpose, whilst the rest 



AN IMPALED SLAVE. 307 

stood under arms. He himself sat on a fallen log and began 
a letter for the mail. In a few moments there was a great 
clamour behind him, cheering and laughter and crackling of 
the underwood. It seems that the foragers had come across three 
armed Ashantees lying flat on their stomachs, and a Houssa 
stumbled right across them. The men had orders not to fire 
unless attacked, and the three spies escaped with their arms. 
They must have resisted a desperate temptation when Captain 
Gordon sat down with his back to them, not twenty yards 
away, with a clear space between. Strolling down the hill to 
Foomanah in the afternoon — it is but thirty-five minutes from 
this — I passed the place where the Ashantee fetishmen had 
set up their last cruel charm to keep us back. It was a slave 
impaled and mutilated, on each side of whom a live sheep had 
been buried. Lord Gilford threw the dreadful thing into a 
deep ravine that borders the road, having no tools for bury- 
ing it. I suppose this is the spot where human victims were 
cast ; for there are many skulls lying about it. In the midst 
of them is the heap of bones and shrivelled skin still trans- 
fixed on a bamboo stake. I found the officers at Foomanah 
greatly excited by a circular lately forwarded from the post- 
office at Cape Coast. This incredible document is headed 
" Unpaid Letter Circular," and intimates that such or such a 
sum is due for a letter insufficiently prepaid now lying at the 
post-office. u Upon receipt of amount it will be forwarded." 
Official stupidity could not go beyond this. The amount 
due varies in all cases I saw between one shilling and one 

x 2 



3 o8 WITH THE ADVANCE GUARD. 



penny. How in the world can a man forward the sum to 
Cape Coast? There are not five hundred pennies in the 
country ; the lowest unit of coinage is the threepenny bit. If 
one had the penny, how should it be sent ? On a par with this 
absurd regulation is one, only abrogated by direct interposition 
of the General, which forbade the forwarding of any letters 
whatever without prepayment. This in a country where 
postage stamps are unknown ! 4 

25th. Half the battalion of the 42nd passed with Briga- 
dier General Sir A. Alison at their head. We passed the 
day in burning bush, a labour the negroes seem to dislike 
almost as much as any other. Unless I went perpetually 
round and threw sticks at them, impossible to get the work 
done. 550 carriers went through the camp to-day, as many 
more are expected to-morrow, and 1000 next day. A bad 
report comes from the " Commander." He has grown 
tired of warfare upon our system, and longs for the helter- 
skelter, rough and tumble fashion of his country. I regret 
to say that his impatience has taken the form of " malin- 
gering." He has scratched a wound in his leg until it dis- 
ables him, and persistently keeps the sore open. The com- 
mander is likely to be sent back in disgrace. 

26th. Colonel Webber is still at Paratomee with his guard 
of the 2nd W.I. ; but Lieutenant Pattison has explored the 
road we call the King's, pursuing it to the outlet, by Foo- 
manah. There is still as much question as ever about this 
path. It has always been understood that nowhere could 



FAREWELL TO AD ANSI CAMP. 



309 



the Adansi hill be seen from the king's road, for which 
reason it had such value to Ashantee eyes ; — an ancient 
prophecy condemning to disaster any monarch who beholds 
the hill. But Lieutenant Pattison reports that he could several 
times observe its lofty crest, about a mile and a half to the 
right.* The second half of the 42nd crossed to-day, and I 
also broke up camp, leaving my shed of plaintain-leaves, my 
bath-room in the buttress of a cotton-tree, my sylvan table, 
and my rice-box seat, with unfeigned regret. Not for many 
a day stall I see an horizon, or a clear sky. Not for many 
a day shall I breathe such air. But duty calls, etc. I give 
Lieutenant Richmond a hearty handshake, and leave that 
genial host in his eyrie. 

* Almost all that is known about this mysterious track is contained in 
the sphynx-like words of the ' Gixide,' reprinted in the Appendix of this 
hook. 



310 



CHAPTEK X. 

FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



Attack on Adobiassi — Our Cannibals Suspected — March to Madoona with 
the Naval Brigade — Captain Grubbe — Captain Luxmore — Fetish Trees — 
Join Major Eussell — Panic Among the Kroomen — Akhankuassi — An 
Ashantee Abandoned — The Townsmen ordered to Coomassie — The Royal 
Hareem sent to Djuabin — Work for the Engineers — An Ashantee Convoy 
Taken — Madoona Again — March to Borborassi — The Attack — Death of 
Captain Nicol — Attacked in our Turn — The Road Occupied by Ashantees 
— A Runner Killed — The Loot — Extraordinary Lamp taken by Lieutenant 
Deane, R.M. — Twelve Kegs of Powder Captured — The Prisoners — Their 
Fear of the Ashantees— Gallant Attack on our Retiring Column — Final 
Charge — Treachery of the King — The Enemies' Position — Disposition of 
our Troops — The Fight — Taking of Amoaful by the 42nd — Attack upon 
the Naval Brigade — The Kossu Advance — Ashantees Retire along our 
Flank — Fire on the Wounded — Assault on Quahman — Panic amongst 
the Carriers — A Wakeful Night for the Rifles— Amoaful — Stores Collected 
There — Excellent Service of Rait's Artillery — Great Slaughter — Death of 
Amanquattiah — Burning of Bequoi — The 23rd Ordered Up — Escapes of 
the General and Dr. Fegan, R.N. — Loss of Baggage — Predicament of the 
P. M. O Sights in the Town— Wholesale Slaughter by a Shell— Ad- 



ATTACK ON ADOBIASSL 



vance from Amoafui — News of Captain Butler — Colonel Webber left as 
_ Commandant— Skirmishing all along the March — Every Post in the Rear 
Attacked — Foomanah Hospital in Danger — Colonel Colley " Stops it " — 
Agimmanu — Confusion in Camp — A Dash for Coomassie Ordered — 
Baggage left Behind — A Flag of Truce — The King finds we Fight too 
Quick — The Dah River — Courage of three Ashantee Stragglers — Heavy 
Rain and G-reat Discomfort — The Battle of Adahsu — Capture of the 
Village — Baggage Ordered Across — A Narrow Shave — Death of Lieu- 
tenant Eyre — Note from Sir A. Alison — The Ashantees give Way — A 
Rush for the Capital — Coomassie Taken. 

Foomanah, January 26th. 

Strolling down from our lofty bivouac, in company with the 
Rev. Mr. Brown, Chaplain to the Forces, I found the Naval 
Brigade encamped in this town. All the 42nd, and the ninety 
men belonging to the 23rd, are lying at Quisa. To-day 
Russell's men have had a brush with the enemy. Yesterday 
news came to the General that the chief of Adansi was still 
lying at Adobiassi, two or three miles to the left of the road. 
He sent word by messengers who accompanied the mission- 
aries that the country was too small to support two chiefs : 
one or other must withdraw, and he gave twenty-four hours 
in which to consider the situation. At the end of that time, 
the Adansi chief having neglected the warning, Wood's and 
Russell's regiments were ordered to attack. The former took 
the path tending right, the latter left, from Dompoassi. Russell 
came first upon the enemy, finding them in occupation of the 
village. It had one broad street, with india-rubber trees 
planted in the middle, and several cross passages. From 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



cover of the trees and from the ends of the houses the Ash- 
antees opened fire. Russell's men dashed across the clearing 
and into the village with the utmost pluck, the Opobos or 
Bonny cannibals leading. Two Ashantees were shot in the 
village and two taken ; the rest fled with ridiculous precipi- 
tation, but opened a dropping fire from the bush on the other 
side ; thither they were followed some distance by our men, 
who probably did execution amongst them, without any loss 
whatever. A third prisoner was taken lamed with slugs, 
which must have been fired by his own friends. A ghastly 
whisper circulates that the Opobos found an opportunity to 
get possession of this man, but we will hope the story is a 
camp " shave," such as abound in this expedition ; certain it 
is, however, that the lame prisoner could not be found when 
search was made, and that the Opobo butcher absented him- 
self six hours without leave ; but no men in the world could 
look more innocent than did the sturdy, bullet-headed can- 
nibals as they marched back. 

Colonel M'Leod, 42nd Regiment, directed the affair as 
Brigadier of the advanced forces, and by his order the village 
was burnt, which act, we hear, has considerably annoyed the 
General. Major Home, with sixty of his engineers, supported 
the attack, but took no part in the action, though the men 
charged along the path full speed, at the word of command given 
by their medical adviser, Dr. Turton. Major Home, meeting 
them thus galloping through the wood, laughed heartily, and 
bade his doctor lead them on, which he did with redoubled 



TO MADOONA WITH JSiAVAL BRIGADE. 313 



haste, but they arrived too late. A detachment of Rifles and 
another of the Naval Brigade were within reach in case of 
necessity. Major Russell regained the main road after this 
little brush, and marched to Kiangboassu, which I cannot 
accentuate, for no man knoweth the proper pronunciation — 
we generally call it :< the place with the Chinese name." 
Colonel TTood pushed on to Detchiassu, a mile and a half 
farther. The former is just a forest camp, on the slope of a 
hill between a little river and a deserted village which we- 
call Madoona, but who gave it that name is a mystery. 

27th. Round early by the sailors' packing, but started only 
at 6 a.m. In these narrow paths it is seldom one can pass 
with comfort along the line of march ; and a correspondent, 
having no fixed place, must inflict his company on some one- 
for all the journey. Our march this time was not long, only 
to Madoona just spoken of. In this neighbourhood there 
are signs of considerable population. The forest is cut with 
paths in all directions, and villages occur at short intervals. 
The Xaval Brigade is now reduced to 200 men, twenty per 
cent, being sent back. Fortunately, they are but slight cases* 
Captain Luxmore is still with the party, but somewhat suffer- 
ing from fever. At Madoona, as we hear, they are likely to 
remain some days ; but in such a war all arrangements are 
liable to be altered at a moment's notice. I conceive that 
the General's idea is to let all his troops in turn have a chance 
of such excitement as may be going. That this system keeps 
them in health no one who has studied tropical fevers could 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING, 



for an instant doubt. The story of this campaign is but 
another incident in proof. Keep men idle, and they fall 
sick ; give them a daily interest, and you almost dispense 
with the doctor. 

In Madoona we found ample shelter for all our number. 
Russell and Rait had to build shanties, but for us were com- 
fortable huts all ready. After superintending the arrange- 
ments for my accommodation, in a large house, built of 
superior mud, I strolled back along the forest path to 
Kiangbiassu. Found my excellent friend Rait, with all his 
officers, engaged in felling timber. How those Houssas 
worked ! — especially when they saw a chance of dropping 
the bush upon a white man's head. Saunders and Knox 
and Palmer, with Rait himself, stood in the midst of the 
abattis, and plied the axe and bill-hook manfully. So they 
amused themselves at Kiangbiassu, whilst we played ball 
with oranges up and down the streets of Madoona. I boarded 
with Captain Grubbe, at his hospitable table under the fetish 
tree, much larger here than is usual. The fetish tree is always 
to be observed in Ashantee villages; — I did not notice the 
same superstition in Fanteeland. There is the trunk common 
to all inhabitants, generally an india-rubber, and the private 
tree within the house walls. Both are considerably gashed 
about the root, and stand up on a heap of broken glass, old 
pots, rags, bones, and rubbish. The public fetish has always 
a fence round it, which keeps together this wretched pile. The 
tree of Madoona sheltered our mess- table — an array of rice 



PANIC AMONGST THE KROOMEN. 315 



boxes — and the hammock in which Captain Luxmore, R.N. 
was endeavouring to shake off his fever. 

28th. Late last night the order of march came to Major 
Russell at Kiangbiassu, and a requisition for 350 Kroomen 
to Captain Grubbe. Anxious to get to the very front, I 
determined to push on with Russell's regiment. We got 
away at the hour appointed, 7.30 a.m., and tramped an hour 
and a half, along a mere bush track, to Detchiassu. The 
road does not yet profess to have been touched thus far. 
Major Home is even now setting to work. At Detchiassu we 
overtook Colonel Wood, who had not yet started his regi- 
ment. Such a jam, such tumult, and disorder, instantaneously 
broke out when the troops joined, that Major Russell ordered 
a halt for breakfast. I never saw pell-mell confusion like 
that before, so sudden, and so hopelessly complete. It showed, 
what the sailors had already told me, how much more serious 
would be a panic amongst Kroomen than a panic of Fantees. 
The former, more independent, heed no order, and are too 
frightened for fear of their officers; the latter can nearly 
always be ruled by vigorous measures. At Paratomee camp, 
when the Naval Brigade lay there, a panic arose at night time 
amongst the Kroomen. It is said to have been caused by some 
men of the 2nd W.I., one of whom stumbled over a sleeping 
comrade. He, dreaming of Ashantees, sprang up with the word 
on his lips, and so roused the Kroomen. At one bound these 
gained their feet, and dashed through the camp to the Naval 
lines. They levelled nearly every tent, snapping the poles in 



316 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



their headlong rush. Many fled straight into the forest, but 
the most part fell upon the tents of their protectors, and lay 
amongst the ruins, gibbering with fright, whilst the sailors 
savagely struggled to escape their canvas prison. 

An hour and a half being given to clear the road, we re- 
sumed our march, along a track of clay, very wet, and 
puddled by the preceding troops. Passed a solitary engineer 
tramping stolidly through the mud ; the man could not have 
plodded more calmly on an English highway. So to Ahkan- 
kuassi, reached about midday. This is the largest town we 
have yet reached, and may well have contained 3000 inhabit- 
ants. It does not cover so much ground as Foomanah, but 
the houses stand very close together, forming in fact a 
labryinth of courtyards and causeways. Streets are narrow, 
even that which runs through the midst. There are no walls 
nor fortifications round Akhankuassi; but I observe, for the 
first time, a town compact, presenting no loose and straggling 
enceinte. The houses themselves, all connected, and absolutely 
windowless to the outside, form an unbroken wall of defence, 
except where streets debouch. There are four of such, as usual ; 
in the rectangles of the cross, walls, huts, courtyards, alcoves a 
jour, and the conveniences of Ashantee architecture, crowd 
the ground as closely as they can stand. Scarcely any furni- 
ture remains for looting, but a broken stool, in the possession 
of Dr. Weir, shows there were trophies worth gathering if 
that be a sample of their art. 

The town is deserted, as always. A poor old wretch, dying 



WORK FOR THE ENGINEERS. 



3i7 



of consumption, abandoned by bis friends, reports tbat all tbe 
people were ordered to Coomassie, wbitber they went five days 
ago. A few men lingered until tbe day before yesterday. It 
is evident tbat a general abandonment of the country is 
commanded. This poor creature at the point of death is the 
only Ashantee we have seen hitherto,, excepting doubtful 
prisoners. Three more have been brought in to-day, from a 
village to left of the road. The people bolted at sight of our 
scouts, who found a fetish body left to defend the property 
abandoned. It was simply a man without his head. From 
the prisoners we hear that the king has sent all his hareem 
to Djuabin. Coomassie is said to be only sx hours from 
this. 

The Engineers are very busy. Captain Buckle, R.E., and 
Lieutenant Cotter have ample work in bridging the Denkeran, 
a considerable stream near by. There is also a clearing to be 
made^ and huts to be erected, for the white troops, not to name 
the fort, which is rapidly progressing. The clearing is on a 
cemetery of considerable size. I see no evidence of memorials 
to the dead, not even so much as in Fanteeland. It may be 
that only slaves are buried outside the town. In the after- 
noon a heavy thunder shower came on, wetting us all, and 
making a miserable camp. Lord Gifford tells me that the 
village he carried this morning was occupied by a convoy, 
evidently bringing commissariat supplies to an enemy hang- 
ing about here. Great quantities of kenki, corn, plantains, 
and fowls, were taken, all packed for travel. Captain Gordon 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



holds the head of the road a few hundred yards beyond this 
town, with his Houssas. Major Russell goes out to-morrow 
to attack Coraman, 3| miles away. 

Sir Garnet is expected here to-morrow with the Rifles 
under Colonel Warren and Major Stevens; the 42nd, 
under Colonel M'Leod and Majors Macpherson and Scott ; 
the Naval Brigade, under Captain Grubbe, with whom 
is Captain Luxmore, still an invalid. 

Naval Camp, Madoona, January 29. 

I did not expect ever to behold this place again. I thought 
it would dwell in memory as a fleeting vision of barbarism, 
' scarce seen, but with some bitterness imbued." But in war, 
though the special correspondent may propose, it is the 
General who disposes his proceedings. Late last night, at 
Akankuassi, I heard that three separate movements were 
ordered for to-day, one to be executed by Colonel Wood's 
regiment, one by Major Russell's, and one by the Naval 
Brigade, supported by the 94 men who represent the 23rd 
Fusiliers. As the object and aim of all their proceedings 
were alike secret, there might well be indecision amongst free 
onlookers which body to follow. For Wood and Russell were 
undoubtedly advancing ; but from Akankuassi to Kiangboassu 
is, beyond question, a retirement. On the other hand, as I 
patiently examined the case, it seemed improbable that the 
white soldiers would be sent into the bush, unless for real 
business. Troops commanded by English officers must 
advance ; they don't retire without an object ; which con- 



MARCH TO B ORB OR A SSI. 



sidering, I speedily decided to turn. How Sir Garnet gets 
his information — whether from prisoners, or direct from 
Coomassie — is a secret properly kept back. By some means, 
however, he learned that Essaman Quantah, the Yon Moltke 
of Ashantee, who so bravely defended Dunquah Camp against 
Colonel Festing, had been sent from Coomassie direct with a 
large quantity of powder to a village called Borborassi, lying 
five to ten miles on the west of the main road. The path 
thither opens about 200 yards in the rear of Kiangboassu, 
from which camp, as I have told, Madoona is separated 
by a bush path of 150 yards. At Kiangboassu last night, 
lay the detachment of the 23rd, under Colonel Mostyn, 
Captain Hutton, Lieutenants Shepherd and Gilbert, with 
Adjutant Webbs and Dr. Fox; at Madoona, Captain Grubbe, 
B.N., with Lieutenants Noel, Evans, Pipon, and Mann, 
commanding 200 men. The Marines were in charge of 
Lieutenants Crosbie and Deane. 

Starting at 5.30 a.m., I got back to Kiangboassu at 7.30, 
in time to get a cup of tea and a biscuit before the start at 
nine a.m. On the way I met the General, whose cheery 
greeting always sent a man on with lighter heart. All the 
staff rode with him on mules. The escort was twelve Fantee 
police under Captain Baker. The men of the expedition had 
breakfasted an hour before I arrived. Within two minutes of 
the appointed time we started, Captain Nicol, of the Hamp- 
shire Militia, leading with the scouts ; then a company of 
Russell's regiment, who appeared to be under the orders of 



320 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



A.D.C the Hon. A. Wood ; then the Naval Brigade ; then a 
rocket battery of Rait's Artillery, under Lieutenant Knox, 
R.A. ; then the Marines. The detachment of the 23rd 
closed our march, preceding the hammocks for sick and 
wounded and the reserve ammunition ; a rear-guard of three 
23rd men and a corporal, subsequently increased to six men, 
closed the long line. 

After leaving the main road we proceeded in single file 
through jungle, alternately dense and thin. I might well 
employ pages or columns in describing the accidents and 
incidents, the scenery, the graveyards, trees, and other 
curious sights of our long march ; but I have much more 
to tell. Very wearisome it was, both to mind and body. 
Nowhere did the path exceed eighteen inches in width, but 
often was it blocked for yards together by fallen trunks, 
or roots, or uncomfortable swamps. Two streams occurred, 
rather deeper than one dared walk through, and broader than 
one could jump. The delay at each of these points severely 
tried the temper and endurance of those in the rear. It 
needed very many examples to persuade our soldiers of a 
fundamental law in marching : that is, the rate of three 
miles the hour in front means five miles the hour to a rear 
guard. During this march to Borborassi — I am not imputing 
blame to any one — there often were gaps of hundreds of yards 
between different bodies of troops, — -gaps of fifty yards, some- 
times between one file and another ; — and we were all in 
single file, remember. How should we have borne attack 



DEATH OF CAPTAIN NICOL. 



from such brave and experienced bush fighters as the 
Ashantees proved to be ? But before the war was over, our 
soldiers and officers had learnt the practical lesson. 

We went through Adobiassi. the village burnt by Major 
Russell, and at 10.45 a.m. a single rifle shot, fired by an officer 
who should have known how to command his instincts, told 
that the ball had begun ; — unless, indeed, the gentleman in 
question had direct orders from the General to warn the 
enemy. Not for ten minutes after did the line open fire, 
but then it was a fusillade. I, for my own part, saw no 
enemy at this time, but seamen's eyes are quicker, and 
we had proof that the fire was returned, in seeing a brave 
fellow walk quietly back along the line stanching a wound in 
his chest. Then we came out into the clear, firing volleys 
into the bush as we doubled. There was a slight incline up to 
the village, and as we rushed up, a cry rose, " Hammock for 
a wounded officer ! 39 But poor Captain Nicol needed no more 
help from man ; he had fallen in the midst of the village in 
the act of restraining the fire, whether of his own men or 
of the flying Ashantees is uncertain. It is believed he was 
killed from the roof of a house. He made no motion after 
he fell prone. Dr. Turton was turning him over as I came 
up. Two slugs, either of them mortal, had pierced him in 
throat and heart. To me fell the melancholy duty of carrying 
back such papers and other articles as our poor comrade had 
about him. 

Guards were instantly posted on all sides, for it speedily 

Y 



322 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



became evident that the roles had been exchanged. From 
an attacking force we were transformed into a force at- 
tacked. Mr. Knox fired rockets on both sides the 
village, our guards sent volleys into the bush, but still the 
Ashantee war song resounded at each pause of the din, 
and still the horns and bugles kept up a dismal accompani- 
ment. In fact, it was proved that the path we had lately 
traversed was now in the enemy's hands. A runner sent out 
by Colonel M'Leod, under escort of two policemen, lost his 
head within two hundred yards, and the policemen ran back, 
one severely wounded, and one with three wounds, all slight. 
Meanwhile looting went on. Some gold was found — how 
much I have no idea at all, but of gear, in old English phrase, 
there was an immense quantity. Only a few objects really 
valuable and curious had been left behind, the most striking 
of which is in possession of Lieutenant Deane, R.M., a lamp 
of brass standing on a twisted pedestal with moulded figures 
of men, alligators, and ducks along the edge. I cannot think 
that a work of art so elaborate could have been executed in 
Africa, but it is not English certainly. Bracelets, gold 
charms, country cloths, which are valuable, carved furniture, 
fowls, sheep, and provisions, made our best trophies ; but in 
a military sense the expedition was quite successful. Twelve, 
or as some have it, thirteen kegs of powder were captured, 
and two umbrellas, the standards of an Ashantee army. The 
distinguishing marks had been torn off them, so that one 
cannot tell with certainty to whom they belonged. It appears 



THE PRISONERS. 



323 



that there were four chiefs in the place. Essaman Quantah, 
another great war chief from Coomassie, the king or chief of 
Adansi, and the proper head of the village. 750 men, pro- 
bably picked warriors, had accompanied the old generalissimo, 
and with 150 belonging to the place made the fight. 

A curious sight was that inside the village. It had been just 
a settlement in the bush, cleared barely twenty yards round. 
But even in so small a place one or two neat and pretty 
huts stood. In one of them, apparently the quarters of a great 
chief, we stowed our prisoners, all slaves, I should think. An 
extraordinary fact is it that all prisoners came in stark naked, 
whether men or women. I could not ascertain how they lost 
their clothes, whether voluntarily, as a custom of war, or 
whether stripped by our black soldiers. Several of these 
people were severely wounded with slugs, doubtless fired by 
their own friends or masters. These we wished to leave 
behind, but they begged in anguish to return with us. They 
said the Ashantees would certainly kill them. One stout 
woman marched all the way back, with wounds dripping 
from thighs and loins. I do not know what became of her. 

We sat on stools and looted furniture at the entrance of 
the village, whilst our men lay in the grass, four or five yards 
out, with rifles loaded and cocked. Every now and again 
they fired a withering volley when the foe became too trouble- 
some in the bush. Slugs were falling everywhere. Those 
who had anything to eat got it out and breakfasted, whilst 
our servants looted, and brought us their plunder, — some of 

y2 



324 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



it, that is. My head boy found a little bag of gold dust,, 
which I allowed him to keep. I heard of no more, except a 
battered etui, discovered by one of the Kroomen. Colonel 
Macleod, who is suffering from fever, looked so faint that I 
gave him my breakfast, feeling able to march yet some miles. 
At 12.45 we marched out, in the midst of an uncomfortable 
fire from all sides. The guides positively refused to lead us, 
even mixed in the ranks of the 23rd. It is a curious fact that 
the only man killed in our return was the guide most reluctant 
to advance. In the retirement the 23rd led, baggage followed 
iu centre, and the Naval Brigade brought up the rear, with 
which I travelled. Not twenty yards out, these brave 
Ashantees recommenced their attack. Colonel Wood, as I 
understand, had been sent in advance to prepare an ambuscade 
for them, taking it for granted that they would bolt after 
our taking the village. Not a bit of it ; they sounded their 
horns, they sang their savage song, and they came on us, 
now one or two, now a hundred, on either flank, and blazed 
away. I cannot but think they had prepared flanking paths, 
for the rear files saw them running through the bush with 
a speed that seems impossible unless the track was cut. At 
every tree they stopped to fire. Our soldiers were fairly 
amazed by such courage. It is astonishing there are no 
more casualties to record. But one sailor of the ' Active ' 
severely wounded, and two slightly ; two of EusselFs regi- 
ment severely ; Captain Nicol, a scout, and a rummer, dead, 
are all the result these poor savages could make for their 



AN EFFECTIVE VOLLEY. 325 

wasted lives. We went along, firing at haphazard into the 
bush until, about a mile from Borborassi, our men in the 
extreme rear passed up word the enemy was gathering strong. 
Again, and yet again, the report came up, "They're thick 
as peas, Sir ! We can see them running from tree to tree ! " 
" Face about ! " cried Captain Grubbe, " and give them a 
volley " A moment afterwards it was done, and silence 
ensued. Lieutenant Pipon, who had charge of the men 
behind, tells us that the Ashantees were barely thirty 
yards away. At such close quarters a volley would be 
terrible ; but it must be borne in mind that we had burnt and 
destroyed their reserve ammunition. From my experience of 
this fighting I should conclude that either a chief was killed, 
or else that the enemy had made one home charge to deliver 
their last shot. From this time we returned peaceably back 
to Kiangboassu and Madoona, a journey of seven miles at 
least. I, who had made eighteen miles on such sustenance 
as is contained in biscuits, almost regretted parting with my 
breakfast in favour of Colonel M'Leod. That night I slept 
again at Madoona,and it was not till morning that the over exer- 
tion of this march told upon me. The Naval Brigade and the 
23rd advanced to Akankuassi next day, whilst Sir Garnet, 
with the 42nd, went on to Insarful. There is no longer any 
doubt that we shall have a battle to-morrow, the 31st. 

Amoaful, February 1st. 

We have had a battle at last, and one to remember. 
The tactics of our treacherous enemy are now apparent. Whilst 



326 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



endeavouring to delay the General's march by expostulations 
almost abject, he has been steadily collecting men and am- 
munition for a stand. Sending back the missionaries, letting 
them see just so much of his preparations as would make 
them believe him helpless, was part of the same perfidy. They 
must have passed within a few yards of the two great camps 
we captured yesterday. For some days it had been suspected 
by Sir Garnet that all was not quite as satisfactory as report 
would have it. Even when accounts were most glowing, he 
neglected no precaution, and well it is for us he did not. On 
the evening of the 29th, we knew a battle must be fought at 
Amoaful. The spot was well chosen. There is a large village 
here, flanked on either side at little distance by the two im- 
portant towns of Bequoi and Cocofoom. The bush is par- 
ticularly dense at this point, and a swamp fronts the largest 
camp, which was stockaded. About a mile ahead of Amoaful 
is the hamlet of Egginkassi, round which the fight was 
hottest. All baggage we left behind at Insarful, where Dr. 
Mackinnon, P.M.O., established his field hospital. This 
village lies about three miles in front of the Ashantee position, 
and a mile further on is Quahman, through which also we 
passed. 

The General's idea was to attack in a square, as it were — 
the 42nd leading, Naval Brigade divided on the right and 
left flank, with Wood's and Russell's regiments attached to 
the divisions respectively. The Rifle Brigade defended the 
rear, and the detachment of the 23rd was held in hand. 



BATTLE OF AMOAFUL. 



327 



Rait's Houssa Artillery marched with the 42nd, and right 
good service did they. The two flank columns, also under 
command of Colonel McLeod, had orders to cut their way 
through the bush, and reach the line of the 42nd. The Ash- 
antee force exposed to us a broad front, resting upon two 
camps, and the large town of Amoaful. Major Home's 
Engineers showed the greatest coolness and courage ; yes, 
even the Fantees, in cutting the bush for our advance. They 
suffered heavily. It was in this dangerous service that poor 
Buckle received his death wound. 

Exactly at eight a.m. the firing began in front of Egginkassi. 
Within the first few moments it became evident there was to 
be hot work, but no one could have believed the savages 
would fight with such desperate determination as the Ashantees 
showed. Captain Buckle, R.E., fell just as the village was 
carried, shot through the chest ; he died without recovering 
consciousness. The enemy retired hastily into the bush, as 
their habit is, and commenced a terrible fusillade. The 42nd 
followed along the main road, which is flanked by the lowest 
camp. The Naval Brigade, divided into two companies, 
entered the wood on the either hand, and worked down towards 
the road. The 23rd supported the 42nd in its dangerous 
enterprise. Wood's and Russell's regiments defended the 
flanks of the position, backed by two companies of Rifles, 
who formed behind a hasty barricade of plantain trunks. 
Four companies guarded the road we had lately traversed. 
In this order the battle was fought, with occasional move- 



328 FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



merits to right or left, as the fire concentrated at one point 
or another, from 8.0 to 11.45 a.m. The Ashantees resisted 
the advance of the 42nd towards Amoaful ; their numbers 
enabled them to push great bodies of men right and left 
round Egginkassi, in the effort to find a weak place. The 
little street of that village was soon filled with wounded, 
some terribly hit. The houses were too small and too hot to 
accommodate more than a few, and the rest lay on the 
ground in hammocks as they came in. Fortunately there 
was scarcely a gleam of sun all day. Needless to tell that 
the medical staff did all that science and tenderness could to 
relieve the suffering. The doctors out here were picked men, 
I believe, and hardly they were worked. The 42nd Regiment 
suffered the heaviest loss. That gallant regiment fought 
its way through, and carried Amoaful with loud cheers after 
three hours and three quarters' struggle. Immediately on 
occupying it the pipes struck up to apprise their Colonel, 
Brigadier M'Leod, who was with the right wing of the 
Naval Brigade, of their success. 

For a few moments afterwards there was almost a pause, 
and officers began to compare their watches for registering 
the duration of the battle. Suddenly the row began again, 
harder than ever, on our right, where Captain Grubbe was 
attacked by immense numbers. From this time the action 
almost concentrated itself on this flank. No effort of our 
sailors could move the enemy, who had fixed themselves in a 
dense corner of jungle. It really seemed as if nothing but 



ATTACK UPON THE NA VAL BRIGADE. 329 



the failure of their ammunition would drive them out. Now 
at one point, now at another, along the hill-crest, they poured 
•down crushing volleys. Life they counted no price, if only 
a, white man could be killed. It was the same desperate 
obstinacy we had seen at Abrakrampa. They climbed trees to 
fire with more deadly effect, but the mass just lay down, and 
shot, and shot, till shot themselves or short of ammunition. Sir 
Archibald Alison, Brigadier of the white troops, declares he 
never came under a fiercer fire in India or the Crimea. Sir 
Archibald did not spare himself nor his staff officer, Captain 
Despard, R.M., who was always going backwards and forwards 
on the road. 

The Naval Brigade received a reinforcement from Wood's 
and Russell's regiments, and the three bodies fired volley after 
volley for nearly three hours without silencing the enemy. 
At 2.30 p.m. the General ordered up the Kossu men for a 
charge. They went in boldly, under command of Lieutenant 
Clowes, singing their war-song and dancing their fantastic 
dances. This demonstration the Ashantees could not stand, 
and they gave way at last at 2.45 p.m., after holding their 
ground six hours and three-quarters. 

But not in flight. They retired through long bush paths 
parallel to the Insarful Road, and speedily opened fire on a 
convoy of wounded going back to hospital. The bearers threw 
their hammocks into the bush and ran, but were rallied before 
the Ashantees broke out, and carried our wounded back to 
Eggin-kassi, where they remained two hours longer till the road 



33° 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



was clear. A former convoy had passed without molestation. 
It became evident that our baggage must not be expected for 
some hours. Pushing on, the Ashantees we had driven out, 
or a fresh body of them, attacked Quahman just at two 
o'clock, and again from four to eight p.m. It is even said 
they went as far as Insarful, and made an attempt on the 
village also • but this is contradicted. Certain it is that a 
party of carriers going thence with officers' baggage, under 
cover of darkness, were fired upon before reaching Quahman, 
and bolted back, leaving three of their number on the road 
and all the baggage. These men are said to have come from 
the south-west, and may probably be that force under Essa- 
man Quantah, whose teeth we drew at Borborassi ; but 
Colonel McLeod is certain that the first attack came from the 
north, from our direction. Two companies of Rifles had been 
sent back to reinforce the company or two holding the village, 
and a wakeful night they had. Sentries report that about 
four a.m. they saw numbers of men crossing the road south 
of their station, on whom they fired. This morning, on pro- 
ceeding to attack, the camp was found deserted. There were 
two bodies in it, and many traces of blood. 

At five p.m., all being quiet around us, and the General feeling 
confident that Quahman could protect itself, all the forces not 
needed to keep the road moved into this place. It is a fine 
village, the main street being quite seventy feet wide and planted 
with india-rubber-trees. Its houses, however, are for the most 
part smaller than those of places of less pretension. Streets 



DEATH OF AMANQ UA TTIAH. 



and houses were heaped with provisions, rags, and rubbish. 
Amoaful was evidently a military station, and no more. Very 
little to plunder remained in it. Some few men found a few 
shillings' ^ orth of gold-dust hid in the dirtiest corner of a 
rag, but our best trophies are nine kegs of powder, two great 
umbrellas, and an immense pile of corn and rice made up for 
transport. In the camps which were defended with such 
obstinacy an almost equal quantity of stores was found, and 
some supply of powder; in fact, it seems likely that the 
Ashantees may suffer from want of food. Considerable num- 
bers of them fell, but how many I should not like to guess. 
In the camps we passed, the bodies lay thickly, showing ter- 
rible wounds for the most part. Rait's shells made the most 
slaughter. That assiduous drill we have seen for months past 
now showed its value ; Captain Rait and his officers may be 
proud of their negro soldiers. In the bush there must have 
been at least an equal slaughter, and a mere wound from the 
Snider, if not immediately fatal, must kill in the absence of 
surgeons. Three prisoners only have been taken up to this, 
two of whom — Houssas — immediately enlisted in our service. 
All declare that Amanquattiah is dead at last — shot in the 
back whilst hurrying out of this village in his chair. We 
have so often heard such news that one may well doubt, but 
all three prisoners agree in their story, though interrogated 
separately. Lord Gifford, who passed the night with his. 
scouts searching the forest paths, is reported to have brought 
back the intelligence that our chief foe is not only dead but 



333 FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING, 



buried, forty slaves being sacrificed at bis grave last nigbt. 
Searcb is being made for a 42nd man who is related to have 
told that he shot a chief in his chair through the back. 
Appia, also one of the King's great officers, is returned as 
dead ; and the King of Mampon, Generalissimo, wounded. 

This morning two companies of Rifles went out to explore 
a village off our rear, which they found deserted. Five com- 
panies of the 42nd, under Major Scott; the Naval Brigade, 
under Captain Luxmore — Captain Grubb being severely 
wounded ; Russell's Regiment ; the 23rd, under Colonel 
Mostyn; and Captain Rait, R.A., with Lieutenants Saun- 
ders and Palmer, in charge of the Houssa battery, went out 
at one p.m. to burn Bequoi, the third town of Ashantee in 
size and importance. The opposition met with was not 
prolonged, but they had it very hot for a time. Lord Gifford 
ran a serious risk. Under the impression that the Houssas 
had orders to support him closely, he rushed into the streets 
of this large town, and found himself surrounded by many 
hundred enemies. They fired from every side y under cover of 
houses and through loopholes. Several of our best scouts 
fell, whilst the Houssas, probably by some misunderstaading, 
still remained in the bush. But the Naval Brigade, pressing on, 
carried the black troops with them, and rescued Lord Gifford 
from his desperate position. Our scoutmaster received only 
a nasty graze upon the thumb. Besides the scouts, we had 
one seaman shot dead, three wounded, and seven Houssas 
slightly wounded. Three umbrellas were brought away, and 



LIST OF CASUALTIES. 



333 



another lost. The town made a prodigious smoke. It may- 
have held 15,000 souls, and contained large pottery works. 

The official list of casualties is as follows : 42nd Regiment 
— Major Macpherson, severely wounded ; Major Baird, ditto ; 
Captain Whitehead, slightly; Captain Creagh, slightly; 
Lieutenant Cumberland, severely ; Lieutenant Berwick, se- 
verely ; Lieutenant Annesley, slightly ; Lieutenant Mowbery, 
ditto ; Lieutenant Stevenson, slightly ; rank and file, two 
killed and one since dead, 105 wounded. Naval Brigade — 
Captain Grubbe, severely; Lieutenant Mundy, very dan- 
gerously; Lieutenant Rawson, severely ; Lieutenant M'Leod, 
slightly ; Lieutenant May, slightly ; Lieutenant Maltby, 
ditto ; rank and file, 26. Rifles — Major Stevens, slightly, Lieu- 
tenant Smythe, slightly ; Lieutenant Sherston, very severely ; 
rank and file, 6. Engineers — Captain Buckle, killed ; Major 
Home, slightly wounded. Sappers — 3 wounded. Native 
labourers — 32 killed and wounded. Besides these there are 
many touched in every regiment who are not returned. All 
the 23rd have been ordered up at once, and those two hun- 
dred of them lying at Prahsu are already on their way. A 
body of 70 men of the 1st West India have arrived at 
Insarful. 

It is too true that in the action a 42nd man lost his head. 
They found the poor fellow's body when burying the 
slain. He evidently lost his way in retiring to the rear 
badly wounded, and was set upon by these black wretches. I 
hear that the small detachment of 2nd W.I. behaved very 



3H FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 

well and steadily in the attack of Quahman. A sergeant of 
the 23rd has caused some alarm by his non-appearance, but it 
seems that the man, finding himself lost, joined the Naval 
Brigade, and did manful duty with them during the action. 
The General and staff occupied the village of Egginkassi, or 
Egginassi, as some call it, whilst the engagement proceeded. 
Very often the fire made a half circle round our right flank, 
but Sir Garnet always preserved the pleasant smile which 
distinguishes him, although the cigar between his lips went 
out several times. He received a sharp blow from a slug in 
the puggaree of his helmet, and Dr. Fegan, R.N., standing 
close by, had a narrow " shave." He wore a tie fastened 
with a broad ring. Just after attending Colonel Wood, who 
came in with a slug in his chest, Dr. Fegan advanced from the 
shade of the tree where the wounded lay, to chat with us. 
Suddenly he staggered, and at the same moment his ring 
went spinning down below his waistcoat. A slug had struck 
it and glanced off. The ring had saved his life. 

In Amoaful, though the carriers revelled in plenty, we were 
hard put to it for subsistence until midday was past. The 
headquarter baggage* and the field hospital stores either fell 
into the enemy's hands or were lost in the bush. Dr. Mac- 
kinnon, P.M.O., found himself reduced to the very clothes in 
which he stood, and others were in like case. Sub-Lieutenant 

* Three weeks after, at Cape Coast, it was discovered that a Fantee police- 
man had carried off Colonel Greaves' box, containing invaluable papers and a 
large sum of money. 



SIGHTS IN AMOAFUL. 



335 



TOliter, just risen from sick-bed, came in during the forenoon 
with two companies of the 2nd W.I. from Quahman. The 
duty of holding this important town is entrusted to the 2nd 
W.I. Regiment^ under Colonel Webber, commandant. It is 
certainly a strange place to see at this moment. Under a 
mighty rubber-tree, upon a bedstead removed from the chiefs 
house, lies Major Macpherson, of the 42nd, wounded in leg 
and arm. His pleasant face, as cheerful now as if on parade 
at Aldershot, attracts all the crowd of loungers. There is 
quite a levee round the bedstead, beside which sits Lieutenant 
Cumberland, too hard hit for much conversation, but amused 
by others' talk. He has a notable chair, all carved work and 
brazen knobs, in regard to which we have many discussions. 
Do or do not these chairs come from Holland ? If they do 
not, the Ashantees are no mean artists in cabinet-work, 
further up the village, at the extreme end, lie Captain Rait's 
artillery, defending a trench and stockade. You may see a 
sample of their work in the clearing that extends two hun- 
dred yards beyond. When Rait and his Houssas came 
galloping through the village, what time the beaten Ashantees 
poured down our right flank, and gave such work to the 
Naval Brigade, they saw a group of slaves or warriors hurrying 
towards the bush, with the body of a chief upon their shoulders. 
Rait himself aimed the shell which dropped among them, and 
killed each member of the little company. They lie as they 
ran, chief in his litter, surrounded by dead lieges. I think 
the number is seven. Rait sits in state upon the King of 



336 FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



Bequoi's throne, under the King of Bequoi's umbrella, and 
gives soldierly consolation to Lord GifFord, who mourns for 
his fallen scouts. Meanwhile the work of fortification actively 
proceeds at this end of the village, where the redoubt will 
stand. 

2nd. After the severe engagement of the 31st, there are 
many who believe we shall march in without resistance, but 
the General is not of that opinion. " They will certainly fight 
again," he said to me during the action, and the prediction 
proved correct. We started again from Amoaful at 8 a.m. 
News has come from Captain Butler, who is leading 1,400 
Akims in another column of invasion, that he had had a 
successful skirmish with the enemy near the great lake thirty 
miles to our eastward. Russell's regiment, supported by two 
companies of Bines, and Bait's Artillery, made the advanced 
guard, under Colonel Macleod. The main body was com- 
posed of the 42nd regiment, and the Naval Brigade brought 
up our rear. Captain Despard had orders to follow with the 
baggage in the afternoon. Colonel Webber was left, with 80 
of the 2nd W.I. as a garrison of Amoaful, now strongly en- 
trenched and stockaded. There was much skirmishing all 
along the march, and many small ambuscades. Every 
village, however small, and there are many of them — resisted 
our advance. We saw abundant evidence how deadly had 
been our fire in the late engagement. Chiefs on litters lay 
abandoned in the bush. The road in some parts was blocked 
with stores and cloths. It was a dreadfully tedious advance, 



FOOMANAH HOSPITAL IN DANGER. 



337 



for each yard of bush must be explored by scouts. Not till 
4.30 p.m. did we reach Agimmanu, a little village lost in the 
forest. Here the main body stayed all night, whilst the 
advanced guard pushed on to Eduabin. Another stand was 
expected at the passage of the river Dah or Adah, a broad 
stream some six miles further. Meanwhile news has reached 
ns that every post along the road has been attacked without 
success. At Foomanah the affair was rather serious. Lieut. 
Grant, 6th regiment, distinguished himself by a display of 
cool courage which earned the praise of all his comrades, but 
the enemy got in, and had nearly reached the hospital. 
There were twenty convalescents there who drove them back 
with difficulty. They then, with characteristic stupidity, 
fired the town, and were, of course, compelled to retreat by 
flames of their own raising. In the midst of the row Colonel 
Colley descended on the scene. This excellent officer has a 
knack of appearing exactly at the right place. The mot he 
is said to have uttered when news came from post after post 
of attack on our communications, deserves record. " I must 
go and stop this," said Colonel Colley, with no note of ex- 
clamation. Whereupon he set off, with half-a-dozen police- 
men, and here and there and everywhere turned up just in 
time to " stop " it. 

The baggage did not reach Agimmanu unti] after dark, 
much of it not before 11 p.m., and it had then to be 
sorted out. Such confusion round the big fires is only seen 
on a Derby night. But at length rations were served, 

z 



33$ 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



many gave up the search for their belongings, and quiet 
returned. 

Next day, the 3rd, all were up and ready at dawn, but we had 
to wait till 9.30 a.m. for a party of the navals, sent back to 
escort a convoy. An order had been issued that all baggage 
should be left behind here ; four days' ration was served out, 
and all men knew that a dash for Coomassie was the pro- 
gramme. Our march was as slow as the day before, for 
the advanced guard came upon many ambuscades. Rait's 
artillery made excellent shell practice. About 3 p.m. a flag 
of truce arrived, with a letter from the king, asking four days' 
armistice. He complained that we fought " too quick," and 
confused him. Sir Garnet declined this modest proposal, 
giving till 9 p.m. to send in his hostages, the queen mother 
and the heir apparent. Another hour's march, with much 
firing, brought us to the Dah, where we camped in the bush. 
It is a shallow stream, some sixty yards broad, and we were 
soon aware that another battle awaited us in the morning. 
Russell's regiment pushed across and occupied the further 
bank with little opposition. Meanwhile, three Ashantees, 
firing not fifty yards in our rear, turned out all the camp ; one 
of them was promptly captured by two men of the 2nd 
W.I. Just as we sat down to a well-earned meal, rain 
began to fall in sheets. No one was prepared for this trial, 
and the tents had been left behind with other baggage. 
The General and his staff passed a night as wet and 
uncomfortable as the soldiers, and at 3 a.m., rain having 



BATTLE OT AD A HSU. 



339 



just ceased, all the camp turned but to light fires and dry 
their clothes. 

4/7?. At 6.30 a.m. everything was ready for action, and we 
began to advance over the excellent bridge which "Major 
Home and his engineers had passed the night in con- 
structing without opposition. The row began at 7.10 a.m., 
when Colonel Macleod advancing, came upon the Ashantees 
in great force. The Rifles led, with Wood's and Russell's 
regiments. Rail's artillery and the 23rd. The style of 
fighting was the same as at Amoaful, only the savages 
did not come so close to deliver their fire. They now 
fired volleys from about forty yards distance, using each inch 
of cover. "We. for our part, lined the road on either side, 
gradually advancing into the bush. Scarcely an Ashantee could 
be seen, but their fire was astonishing. Inch by inch we fought 
our way up towards the village of Adahsu, which lies about half 
a mile from the river. Companies of the 42nd gradually 
advanced between our files ; as the enemy was beaten back, 
until, at length, about 2 p.m., word came up that all the Xaval 
Brigade had crossed, and lay along the road. Meanwhile, 
the Ashantees had tried both flanks, moving down first to 
left and then to right, with fearful din of drums and horns, 
and war- songs. Everywhere they met the crashing volleys oi 
the Snider. Our column had indeed no rear, and no weak 
place, or these undaunted savages would surely have found it. 
Then news came that the village was carried, and Sir Garnet 
made one of those bold movements which decide a battle. 

z 2 



340 



FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING. 



" Send all the baggage up," he ordered to Colonel Greaves. 
Though driven back in front, after seven hours' fighting, the 
enemy still lay all along both flanks. We knew them now too 
well to suppose they considered the battle lost, or would have 
heeded had they thought so. The command was a happy 
inspiration. With all speed it passed down the line, and our 
convoy hurried across the bridge and up the road, between 
two lines of sailors firing volleys. Not an instant's halt or 
pause was suffered. Slugs flew amongst the carriers all along, 
dropping several and wounding many ; but the panting, terri- 
fied wretches were thrust on. Not too minutes after the last 
of these had passed the creaking timbers, Ashantees were seen 
crossing the road in our rear. Five minutes earlier they had 
been in the thick of the convoy, and no man can guess the 
result. But it got safe through, though with loss, into the 
tiny village, and there halted, a monstrous heap of men and 
boxes and hammocks. Meanwhile, the enemy burnt and 
destroyed the remains of our camp across the bridge. 

Still the attacks went on, in front and on both flanks. The 
Naval Brigade, on our extreme rear, lost one man killed, one 
mortally wounded, and several hurt, at the same moment that 
seven men out of ten, serving a gun in front, were killed or 
wounded ; amongst them poor Lieutenant Eyre, who survived 
but half an hour. We buried him on the spot. Then the 42nd 
were ordered to clear the road, and in a moment afterwards 
the wounded began to return. Captain Moore and Lieutenant 
Wauchope scarcely went a yard. But gallant fellows remaining 



COOMASSIE TAKEN. 



34i 



pressed on, whilst the General waited at the village in a 
furious din of musketry on all sides. At 4 p.m. Sir A. Alison 
sent back a letter, announcing that the enemy were panic- 
struck, in full flight, dropping chairs, litters, and umbrellas. 
This news, passing down the line, caused a general cheer, 
which had the unexpected effect of causing the Ashantees 
to abandon the contest. Scarcely a shot fired afterwards. 
n On to Coomassie ! " was the cry. The heap of baggage 
disentangled itself, as the bearers rose to their feet. Half an 
hour more saw us en -route again, the most wearied and the 
hungriest finding strength for this last advance. We hurried 
on, past three villages, up to Karsi, where a halt had been 
expected. But there was still an hour of daylight, and we 
pushed forward. Just before dusk we reached the celebrated 
swamp, pestilential with floating bones and rotten flesh of 
victims. Ten minutes niore., up a rocky incline, took us to 
the market-place, and our goal was won. Three ringing 
cheers announced to the flying king that he had lost his 
capital. 



342 



CHAPTEE XI. 

THE METROPOLIS OF MURDER. 

Ooomassie — The Frames in the Market-place — The Queen Mother's Embassy 
— Mr. Dawson's Boy Arrives — Alarm caused by Refugees— The General's 
Quarters — Post of the Naval Brigade and of Rait's Artillery — Looting 
by the Natives — Hanging of a Policeman — Architecture and Appearance 
of the Town — The Palace — Contents — The King's Bedchamber — His 
Golden Stool — Inventory of Royal Treasures — The Aristocratic Quarter 
— Manners and Customs of Ashantee Ladies — Publicity of Life — The 
Reek of Murder — Customs of Dahomey and Ashantee compared — The 
Market-place — Friendliness of Townspeople Remaining — The Fallen 
Fetish Tree — The Royal Cellar — War Drums, Man Baskets, and Horns — 
The Smell of Coomassie — The Charnel-house — Monotonous Murder — 
The Wounded Sent Back — Koffee Kalcalli's Promise — Suspicious Be- 
haviour of Mr. Dawson — Orders Issued to Advance — Tremendous Rain 
— Prize Agents go to the Palace at Midnight — A Curious Diary Dis- 
covered — Incidents Therein — Burning of Coomassie. 

Coomassie, Feb. 5th. 

A town over which the smell of death hangs everywhere, and 
pulsates on each sickly breath of air — a town where vultures 
hop at one's very feet, too gorged to join the filthy flock 



COOMASSJE. 



343 



preening itself on gaunt dead trunks that line the road ; 
wliere blood is plastered, like a pitch coating, over trees and 
floors and stools — blood of a thousand victims, yearly re- 
newed ; where headless bodies make common sport, where 
murder pure and simple, monotonous massacre of bound men, 
is the one employment of the king, and the one spectacle of 
the populace. At every shuddering breath the stomach turns, 
so pestilential is the air ; but in this atmosphere the inhabi- 
tants pass their life. They heartily eat whilst human blood 
streams down the street, whilst bodies unburied bleach and 
swell before their eyes. The child does not shrink as execu- 
tioners pass by ; the bride turns not an inch from her way to 
avoid a festering corpse. Verily this is the metropolis of 
murder. The odour of putridity is the air approved by its 
inhabitants. The sight they love is severed necks, and spout- 
ing blood, and corpses that line the road in a dead procession. 
Their houses are built to command the widest view. They 
are stained red, that the colour of blood may always rejoice 
their eyes. Beside the doors, and along the stucco friezes, 
one group is never absent — a fantastic figure flourishing his 
knife over a helpless victim. Murder is their delight, their 
joy. Though the empire be tottering under the incessant 
drain ; though their own lives are not worth an hour's pur- 
chase, their appetite will not be restrained. Children and 
slaves, which make their savage wealth, are sacrificed with 
glee to keep up the show. Nowhere are so many dead trees, 
poisoned by the noxious exhalations which they love to 



344 THE METROPOLIS OF MURDER. 

breathe; nowhere is animal life so scant. The pretty lizards 
which rustle and hunt over every other town, have fled this 
place ; only vultures abound with sickening tameness, and 
kites which sweep close to the ground with plaintive twitter- 
ing. 

Such is Coomassie, the doomed town we have reached at 
last. It is ours now, and the carnival of blood has ceased — 
for a time. English sailors occupy the market-place, English 
guns threaten the palace, English troops camp around the 
General who has brought low this metropolis of murder. The 
savage king is hiding in the bush, where, probably, he pursues 
with redoubled eagerness that passion for blood which has 
destroyed his empire. The Ashantee kingdom was esta- 
blished in massacre — by massacre has it lived, and by mas- 
sacre perished. The strength of the nation has been sapped 
by this ceaseless tax of life. See yonder, across the market- 
place, those frames of wicker, which Rait's Houssas are break- 
ing up to burn. There were eight of them in line half an 
hour ago. Those frames were built to accommodate the vast 
umbrellas, silken or velvet, belonging to the officers of state. 
They marked, as one may say, the grand stand, from whence 
high potentates daily witnessed slaughter. Looking upon 
them, we cannot resist the temptation to lend the Houssas a 
helping hand, and to pile their honest fires with those memo- 
rials of cruelty. 

We did not reach Coomassie, after the last fight at 
Adahsu, without receiving another embassy. The queen 



THE QUEEN MOTHER'S EMBASSY. 345 

mother tried her influence with Sir Garnet, sending down the 
Body servant of Mr. Dawson, the chief of the king's Fantee 
prisoners. With him she despatched three people, two boys 
and a girl, whom she chose to call hostages, but whom the 
servant confessed to be slaves of her household. The woman 
halted at the sight of the 42nd, fell on her knees, and voci- 
ferously implored mercy. Sir Archibald was much too busy 
to notice her at the moment, and when he inquired, she was 
gone. The boys reached Sir Garnet, who paid no attention 
to them. Mr. Dawson's servant, who spoke English well r 
could give us no information of value. He walked somewhat 
breathlessly, before the General's mule, and answered his 
questions, but to little purpose. He did not know whither 
the king was fled. After Amoaful, the defeated army ran 
back to Coomassie, causing such a panic that the inhabitants 
straightway bolted into the forest, nor returned until next day. 
"We had some excitement also with three Houssa slaves 
escaped, who hung in the bush along our line, and twice 
caused the troops to lie down with rifles ready. At length 
one of them found courage to show himself openly, and we 
pressed on with redoubled speed. Another of those tri- 
angular white flags, which mean peace in Ash an tee, caused 
delay, but this signified no more than the other. And thus 
we reached Coomassie, as I have told in the last chapter. 

Before night had fairly fallen, all our men had been assigned 
to quarters. Gigantic fires blazed in every street, not less to 
give a light much needed, than to dissipate the fumes of 



346 THE METROPOLIS OF MURDER. 



putrefaction hanging over the town. The General took up 
his abode in a large alcove facing the street, but high above 
it, where, full in view of friend and foe, by light of half-a- 
dozen candles and two big fires, he dined, consulted, and 
wrote despatches. The Naval Brigade occupied the market- 
place, whence, as we soon noticed, came the sickliest smell 
of death. Rait's Artillery occupied a trivia just above, from 
which position they could crush any force attempting to 
disturb us. But far were the Ashantees from such a thought ! 
The 42nd and the Rifles, with our trusty detachment of the 
23rd had quarters given them higher up the town. A 
crowd of Ashantees remained, with whom we got along 
very well. It was too dark for anything but dinner, and 
when guards were posted, all sat down with hearty appetite to 
rations. But the Fantees, Kroomen, and native levies, at 
once began to loot, and in an hour's time houses were blazing. 
Tired as they were, our men had to turn out to preserve 
order, and to save the town, but no measure less strong than 
hanging a policeman could stop the licence. This was done 
by command of Col. McLeod about twelve o'clock. The 
wretched boy howled, as it seemed to me, for a full hour. 
His body hung on the tree till ten o'clock next day, an ugly 
spectacle. Others of the police, of the Bonnys, Kossus, and 
Houssas were very severely flogged. The Palace had a 
narrow escape. Probably a third part of the place was 
burnt, and fears were entertained for our stores and ammu- 
nition. 



ARCHITECTURE OF THE TOWN. 



In the morning we surveyed what was remaining of our 
conquest. Coomassie covers a very large space of ground 
— to speak of it still in the present tense. It has many 
handsome houses, all built in the same style. The front is 
open^ raised about four feet from the ground. Here sit the 
inhabitants, and watch the dreadful spectacles provided for 
their amusement. Chiefs' houses have a long fagade of 
dead wall on either side, profusely ornamented with stucco 
devices in high relief. The lower part is painted red, and 
polished. All living-rooms lie behind, and little care seems 
to be given them. In some houses, however, they cover a 
very large piece of ground, room beyond room, always 
opening on a courtyard, and huts beyond. The king's palace 
is really a handsome building, of stone, faced with stucco, 
and extremely solid. It has two floors and a belvidere, used 
for lumber. An open battlement surmounts the roof, from 
which one commands an extensive view. But the palace is 
apparently used as a treasure-house exclusively. The King 
prefers his native architecture, which is not without elegance, 
as I have already shown. The court in which lies his bed- 
chamber is prettily adorned with stucco ornaments and 
columns, in which the taste of his Arab councillors could 
plainly be observed. The bed-chamber itself is a low, dark 
room, on the ground floor, hung with cloth of country silk, 
both on walls and ceiling. It is approached by a door 
panelled in little plates of gold and silver. A silk bedstead 
with curtains stands at one end, and a low divan of the same 



348 THE METROPOLIS OF MURDER. 



stuff at the other. Two swords lie by the King's bedside 
upon the mattress, both of them silver- hilted. The natives 
say, and the missionaries confirm, that here was deposited the 
monstrous nugget, which made the pride of Ashantee regalia 
— a mass of virgin gold, nearly eighteen inches long by twelve 
inches high. This is the golden " stool " so often mentioned. 
Needless to say that we found it not. 

The rest of the building is simply stored with loot, 
although it seems probable that the most valuable articles 
have been removed. I made out a list of objects noticed 
in my visit. Imprimis, a great number of umbrellas, some 
very handsome, and one of black and red velvet in alter- 
nate squares, bound with gold lace, and with a golden top, 
perfectly new, about ten feet in diameter. The umbrella of 
an Ashantee chief is his standard in war, and bears on its 
apex the crest or insignia of his family. When in danger, 
this crest is snatched off, if possible, that the umbrella may 
remain unidentified. A quantity of common pot figures, High- 
land Mary, two little busts of the Duke of Wellington, etc. etc. 
A number of clocks, various, all stopped with the rust of 
years, A very ancient coatee belonging to the 1st West 
Indian, and shako of incredible shape, probably contempo- 
raneous. Calabashes and stools, beautifully bound with silver. 
A bird-organ, playing, as advertised, " O, rest thee, babe," 
" Slow broke the light," " Adeste Fideles," etc. etc. Portrait 
of a gentleman in oils. Four gold masks, very heavy, quite 
pure, valued at £150 to £200 each. A great quantity of old 



ROYAL TREASURES. 



349 



Dutch engravings in a portfolio. Numbers of big toilette 
glasses. The King's plate, mostly Dutch metal. Many guns, 
one double barrel, silver-mounted. A lot of kettles. A 
gold-bound lantern. Boxes of embossed silver. Two tea- 
tables, one inlaid with gold, one with silver. Silver and gold 
chibouks. A magic lantern. A handsome pix. Picture of 
the new Custom House on the River Thames. Ivory model 
of a ship. Chairs beautifully carved. A collection of " stoney 
marbles." A beautiful " May hen," as we call the bird in 
Cape Colony, stalked, all disconsolate, about the courtyards, 
and ran up to each person who entered, arching her pretty 
neck, with its fanlike yellow crest, for notice. 

The morning was occupied in writing letters and telegrams. 
In company with Mr. Sanders, R.A., I wandered over as 
much of the town as one can see in a noonday walk. There 
is little to be told, in general, about these negro capitals, 
which has not been often told before, but the destruction of a 
savage monarchy so old, so strange, and so famous as that of 
Ashantee, may well engage one to risk a commonplace or a 
repetition. It is the crash of an historic power. We read 
of the Ashantees and their golden capital under direction 
of our sister's governess, in the schoolroom ; the story of 
their destruction will be a new page for our grandchildren. 
For destroyed they are, unless the tribes so long enslaved 
under a heavy tribute of blood and gold are too utterly 
crushed to take their opportunity. Without counting his 
loss of men, which I cautiously set down at about 3000, 



350 THE METROPOLIS OF MURDER. 



the king has expended or lost an amount of powder 
which will need years to replace. Hundreds of guns have 
been spoiled, the spirit of the people shaken, and their prestige 
destroyed. The disintegration of the empire has already begun, 
when a great chief, Adansi, proposes to evacuate his territory, 
and seek refuge beyond our frontier. King Gaman, and the 
Denkera people, who have so often rebelled, will surely take 
this opportunity for another attempt. The inland tribes will 
be encouraged to resist Ashantee exactions with more spirit. 
Amongst the heriditary enemies of the nation, there is abun- 
dance of powder and warlike stores. Individual courage 
avails little in bush fighting against guns, for close quarters 
and the use of steel are impossible. For these reasons it may 
be credited that Ashantee deleta est. Let us give longer 
glance at the fallen capital before it fades again from civilized 
view, behind the mist of negro barbarism. 

I can easily believe that Coomassie had 40,000 inhabitants. 
It covered an immense space, and although in many parts 
the houses stood very far apart, in others they made a 
labyrinth of walls and passages. Especially this was the case 
in the lower town, where a great block of buildings faced the 
palace. At what point this dwelling ended and the next 
began, impossible to discover. One little quadrangle, with 
its four alcoves a jour , its crimson basement, and its designs 
of polished stucco, led on into another, endlessly. The fire 
had passed over all this quarter, which was evidently aristo- 
cratic ; but it had done no harm, except to burn the thatch. 



ASHANTEE LADIES. 



35i 



Many treasures of savage luxury still remained, in shape 
of stools, silver-bound, powder belts of leopard skin, with 
silver-hilted kuives stuck through in cases, guns, bags of cloth, 
fetishes, mats, and charms. These latter hung on pegs upon 
the wall, many of them still in process of manufacture. I 
take it that Ashantee ladies amused themselves with " work '* 
just like their European sisters, but they evidently lacked the 
patience so remarkable with English dames. Of this we had 
ample proof, for fhe number of mats or quilts completed bore 
no proportion to those beguu. Ashantee ladies have a re- 
prehensible practice of wrapping the remnants of their dinner 
in unfinished works of art. The denizens of the king's seraglio 
were especially addicted to this untidy habit. Those happy 
individuals dwelt all together iu a maze behind the palace. 
They may each have had an alcove to herself, but certainly 
no more, and in this publicly-private apartment they really 
seem — if an Oxford expression be admissible — to have cc made 
hay " when the disaster arrived. Such a heap of varied 
rubbish as each alcove of each quadrangle presented could 
be matched only in a rag-shop. Few articles, except charms 
and fetishes, hung on the walls. All had been pulled down, 
and mixed with the personal wardrobe, the jewellery, the 
furniture, and the ancient treasures which ladies collect. 
Amongst the pile was much of curious, and something of 
valuable, but dirt and vermin smothered the whole. It is 
worth notice, that only in Cape Coast Castle, and in King 
Koffee's palace, have vermin been observed by our people* 



352 THE METROPOLIS OF MURDER. 



But a point more curious is the utter publicity in which the 
Ashantees live. So far as I could make out, in the aristocratic 
quarter and in the seraglio, there was absolutely no pro- 
vision for domestic privacy. The great chief had his own 
sleeping room, perhaps, — excepting in the palace, I found 
no evidence of such a thing — but the ordinary gentleman, 
such a one as inhabited only a modest quadrangle, or 
two perhaps, must have wooed and won, bought and sold, held 
council or made quarrel, lived, fallen sick, and died, always 
in presence of his household. I do not here refer to sanitary 
arrangements, which are equally strict and decent in all 
Ashantee dwellings ; whereby a striking contrast is apparent, 
for the Fantees are shamelessly, and in truth unaccountably 
filthy, nor know what decency signifies. The smells of 
Coomassie are never those of sewage. It is the national 
crime of murder which reeks to Heaven from each blood- 
stained quarter of the town. 

I don't think I have explained why human slaughter amongst 
the Ashantees is worthy of such a strong term as murder. No 
person sane in mind and bodj r would so describe the " customs " 
of Dahomey, or the sacrifices common in many parts of the 
world. For there is a very evident distinction. Elsewhere, the 
poor victim is offered with an object. It may be horrid that a 
human being should be destroyed in propitiation of an idol, or 
merely to bear some foolish message from a living savage to a 
savage dead. But here there is at least an object, a purpose in 
view, or the pretext of one. But in Ashantee nothing of the 



THE MARKET-PLACE. 



353 



sort. That nation only kills for the sake of killing, without 
motive to avow, or superstition to he satisfied. With no rites, 
but with brutal mockery, the deed is done. And therefore the 
negroes themselves draw a distinction between the customs of 
Dahomey and those of Ashantee. The king is too intelligent 
and too humane to approve a practice which weakens his 
kingdom and makes him an object of horror to surrounding 
tribes. Monsieur Bonnat and his fellow- captives all relate 
that Koffee Kalcalli avoided the sight of executions as often 
as was possible j and caused his umbrella to be depressed when 
he passed a headless body : but he was powerless, as greater 
kings have been, to stop a custom which has become the 
popular amusement. Be it hoped that our strong hand has 
made these horrors to cease, with the existence of the 
kingdom. 

A view of Coomassie would be very incomplete without the 
description of the great market-place and the palace. Un- 
fortunately, I must draw on imagination if I would describe 
the busy scene each morning showed in the former place. 
Here it was the troops formed in the gloaming, and gave three 
cheers for the Queen, that night they fought the battle of 
Adahsu, and marched on the panic-struck capital. Then, 
whilst our little force stood in centre of the vast space, a 
dusky crowd of warriors looked on from every avenue, con- 
quered but not dismayed. They stood there, arms in hand, 
for we were far too weak to attempt surrounding the town. 
Closer, within an arm's length, were eager observers, probably 

2 A 



THE METROPOLIS OF MURDER. 



slaves, who for a smile and a pleasant word brought buckets 
of pellucid water, and promised eggs and fowls for the morrow. 
But in the night our villainous Fantees frightened all away, 
with their fires and their cowardly ill-usage, and the secret of 
that sweet water none ever found, as many poor wretches, now 
groaning with dysentery, too cruelly can testify. The market- 
place in itself has nothing to interest. It is just an open 
space, with houses at intervals along its northern side, the 
room between filled with tall reeds, and the eternal bush im- 
mediately behind. Across the area lies that fetish tree, the 
fall of which created such consternation on January 6th. 
East and west runs the main street, full eighty yards wide, 
bordered with such houses as have been sketched. On the 
south two broad streets open, skirting the aristocratic quarter 
of which I lately spoke. But the palace, the stone part of it, 
that is, we saw in pristine magnificence. Monsieur Bonnat 
thinks that nothing had been removed from this part, in which, 
however, the king never resided, preferring his native archi- 
tecture. The contents of the museum, for museum it 
should be called, I have detailed. The exterior was sur- 
rounded, as were all the buildings of the palace, with a tall 
fence of reeds, closely bound together. The stone house was 
very solid and comfortable. It had a courtyard, under the 
sheds of which the king kept his cellar of palm wine — of 
champagne and brandy too, they say — his umbrellas, new and 
old, his chairs and man-baskets of state, covered with scarlet 
cloth and leopard skin. Elsewhere were his war drums, 



THE SMELL OF CO OM ASS IE. 



355 



adorned with human heads ; one missing, by the bye, supposed 
to be Sir Charles Macarthy's. His war horns made to imitate 
a throat, with tongue of scarlet cloth, and jaws but too real, 
hung round. From the courtyard two stout staircases 
mounted, one to the first floor, where the art treasures of the 
monarchy were stored, and one to a walk around the roof, 
passing a bell-turret. Behind this stone house lay the 
favourite residence of the king. Here the architecture was 
native, in quadrangles profusely ornamented, lattice-work of 
stuccoed wood, and columns fluted fantastically. In that 
pretty court where lay the royal bedchamber, numbers of tor- 
toises were crawling, and every beam had its dangling saphi. 
Many of these were fair specimens of illuminating, and 
Arabic chirography. The zenana lay behind. 

But what I have not described, nor ever could, though I 
gave pages to the horrid matter, is the smell we found in 
Coomassie. The town was kept scrupulously clean as regards 
sewage, but the people positively like to have the odour of 
dead flesh in their nostrils. Victims are never buried, but, 
when dropping to pieces, are cast either into the swamp, or in 
an awful ditch opposite the fetish tree. I visited it. Nowhere 
in the world is such a sight, nowhere such a stench. Bodies 
lie in every stage of corruption, swollen to giant size. Several 
doctors accompanied me, and one of them, Dr. Waters, had 
the courage to count the fresh bodies lying on the heap. 
They were fourteen, amongst them a woman and a child. 
Several more we had found in the streets on enteriug, left as 

2 a 2 



356 THE METROPOLIS OF MURDER. 



they fell under the executioner's sword, with the severed head 
beside them, and a few palm-leaves thrown over their rotting 
flesh. 

With horrors like these I could disgust the reader for pages. 
But to what good describe the stools blood-washed each 
spring and autumn, though the name and honours of those 
who used them have been long since forgotten? Murder 
most foul it is, at the best,but the dull wit of these barbarians 
can devise nought but the most prosaic and monotonous 
of horrors. None of de Quincey's "fine art" about their 
massacres, — nothing but the grotesque. But of these things, 
at least, of the ghastly glory of them — there is an end. Coo- 
massie no longer exists. 

About noon all the sick and wounded went back to Adahsu, 
under charge of Wood's and Russell's regiments. All the 
day through there was coming and going of messengers 
between Sir Garnet and the king. Koffee Kalcalli promised 
to return in the afternoon, but a sharp shower gave him a 
decent excuse for neglecting to keep faith. Mr. Dawson, 
the head prisoner, now released, was very busy. All the Fantee 
captives had been found in the mission-house, chained to logs. 
They had been threatened with death on the 4th, but our 
rapid movement saved them. By the bye, although we 
doubtless owe Mr. Dawson some acknowledgment for the 
intelligence he sent down, Lord Gifford tells me that the 
gentleman's proceedings, at the capture, were open to suspi- 
cion. Mr. Dawson met him in the outskirts of the town, and 



PRIZE AGENTS VISIT THE PALA CE. 357 



Lord Gifford instantly ordered him to guide the scouts to the 
palace. Dawson took them all round the capital, no trifling 
walk, and brought them back to the place he found them. 
Lord Gifford threatened to shoot him for treachery, but was 
told that " he really felt so confused, he did not know where 
the palace was." Rather inconsistent 011 the part of a man 
who had shown such presence of mind. Our booty might 
have been vastly different if we had taken the palace half an 
hour earlier. 

At night an order was issued for an advance to Bantam a, 
the royal sepulchre, next day. The 42nd were to head the 
march, the Rifles, 23rd, hospital, and baggage to follow. The 
Naval Brigade in rear. But our officers had by this time 
mastered the secrets of Sir Garnet's strategy. Little was 
said about it, but every one felt convinced the real order would 
prove to be " right about face \" In the night tremendous 
rain fell, and lucky we thought ourselves to have such sound 
roofs over us. About midnight, when all was quiet, prize 
agents went quietly to the palace, and began to collect what 
trophies could be found most portable. By 2 a.m. all was 
completed, and the loads packed. 

Dining with Captain Bait and his officers, I was shown a 
diary which might have been vastly interesting. It had been 
kept, in English, by one of the Fantee prisoners, and narrated 
the events between the 27th ult., when the army went out to 
fight us at Amoaful, and the morning of the 4th inst. But 
I found only two or three details worthy transcription. It 



358 THE METROPOLIS OF MURDER. 



appears that the Ashantees made no effort to conceal their 
defeat at Amoaful, but rather exaggerated it. The king was 
not present, as many had thought. On the day of battle, 
says the diary, the prisoners saw him go past " with his kingly 
appearance, but looking very sad," to consult the shades of 
his ancestors at Bantama: He carried a fly-whisk in his 
hand, and motioned courteously to them with it. A few 
"momome women and fetish men began to play about," 
during the day, but the town was too anxious for such cus- 
toms, and they soon withdrew. The "momome women," 
as M. Bonnat informs me, are wives of chiefs and celebrated 
warriors, who, when their husbands are absent on the cam- 
paign, have a sacred custom of playing at war about the streets, 
armed with wooden guns. Towards evening, the head of a 
white man was brought into town. The people received it 
with alarm and abhorrence, although a prince of the blood 
royal exhibited the trophy. " What is this the prince has 
brought on us ? " they said. " A white man's head ! We do 
not know what will come of this ! " I noticed no other details 
of interest. The presence of Captain Glover, who was but 
ten miles off when the diary begins, is not once alluded to. 
Apparently, the writer was ignorant of it. 

Punctually at 6 a.m. we paraded next day, in the order 
announced. But at every block of houses stood groups of 
Kroomen, police, and sailors, provided with bundles of reed 
tied up as torches. Home and his engineers, at the palace, 
waited the signal for firing their mines. And, as Sir Garnet 



BURNING OF C00MASS1E. 



passed down the rocky slope, that word was given. To every 
quarter the torch-bearers rushed. Slow matches glimmered 
under the royal walls. Fifteen minutes more, the smoke of 
Coomassie covered all the heaven like a veil, whilst, with roar 
and crash, the murder-king's palace fell prone upon the earth. 
Deleta est ! 



360 



CHAPTER XII. 

DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 

Fording the Swamp — A Flooded Track — Dha Bridge Submerged — Long 
Halts and Delays — Agimmanu again — Heavy Rain — Travelling with 
Wounded — Our Prisoners — A Prince of Ashantee — His Fine Manner — 
The Story of Captain Butler's Invasion — Shameful Desertion of Akims — 
March in the Darkness — Alarms Unexpressed — Amoaful Levelled — Mr. 
Dawson and his Baggage — Suspected Spies — The Six Heroes of Wassaw 
— Adansi Proposes to Capitulate — A Hammock for our Prince — All 
Villages Burnt — Gigantic Worms — The King of Adansi's Palace — His 
Application for Terms — Sir Garnet Arrives — Koffee Kalcalli wants Peace 
— Superior J udgment of the King overruled by his Fetish Men — Attacks 
upon the Road — A Private, 2 W.I. loses his Head — Engineer Wounded 
— On to Quisa — Lieutenant Richmond ill — Akrofoomuh — The Control 
Service — Captain Glover's Expedition — Cool Disregard of the Ashantees 
for his Force — Gallant Ride of Captain Sartorius — Utter Destruction 
of Coomassie— Colonel Festing at Prahsu — Patrol Adventure — 1040 oz. 
of Gold arrive from the King — 23rd Regiment leaves in the 'Tamar' — 
Return of Sir Garnet — Great Enthusiasm — Reception at Government 
House — Feminine Demonstrations — The Loot on View — The First Day's 
Sale — Droll Incidents — Silks and Cloths — The King's Bracelets — His 
Caps of State — A Gold Mask — The King's Knife — Necklaces — Stools, 
Silver Bound— The Royal Plate Chest— Sir C. Macarthy's Tankard- 
Chief Executioner's Girdle — The King's Pictures — African High Art — 
Aggry and Popo Beads — The Silver Casket — The Departure — A Govern- 
ment Begging — Adventures on Board the e Benin ' — The Fires put out — 
Towed into Port. 

Agimmanu, February 6th. 

Eight a.m., this morning, saw us on the march seawards. It 



A FLOODED TRACK, 



361 



had been expected that the foul swamp which half encircles 
Coomassie would be greatly deepened by the rain of last 
night, but we found no perceptible difference. A filthy moat, 
indeed, is this. It seems to reek of pestilence. Human skulls 
float on the surface; and in wading one kicks up a mud of rotten 
bones. But all agree that Coomassie is a healthful place. 
In five years and a half ; s residence the prisoners saw no cause 
to believe its vile atmosphere pestilential. After crossing 
the swamp, we marched quickly along the track, until 
reaching the first stream. Through this, in the advance, we 
had plunged bodily, nor found the water above mid-leg. But 
now, for two hundred yards, it lay thigh deep, and the channel 
itself bore a raging flood thirty feet wide, and deeper than a 
man's height. Very long and wearisome was the halt, 
whilst the engineers threw a floating bridge across it. The 
advance guard of sailors had scrambled over with their usual 
ingenuity, by means of some logs hastily collected, but this 
rude device did not commend itself to science. An hour and 
a half we waited. I myself passed an unpleasant quart 
d'heure, standing on a round log in mid-stream, whilst the 
final touches of the axe were added. Unable to retire for the 
the crowd behind, and with a stalwart Fantee brandishing his 
axe within six inches of my head, I had to balance myself as 
best I might. On the other side we made a "spurt" to 
catch the Navals, but rejoined them only at the Dha. I 
counted ten dead Ashantees on the road itself, swollen in a 
ghastly manner. It does not seem that the hyenas, vultures, 



362 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



or other creatures of prey, do their scavenger work efficiently 
in this land. "We saw nowhere any trace of them on the dead 
bodies. Probably they hunt by sight alone, and so a carcass 
generally escapes them in such thick wood. 

The Ashantees, though they had wrecked our camp on the 
other side, had not injured the bridge, which was fortunate. 
It lay nearly two feet under water, and the stream still rose. 
A broken bridge would have delayed us many hours. Major 
Home's work had creditably resisted the flood, only a few of 
the foot-beams having floated off. Men were able to cross 
even whilst the repairs went on, but slowly. The carriers 
were sent over swimming. For the rest of us we stripped, 
and walked the yielding bridge. But it was very toilsome 
work, and the afternoon had well advanced before the rear- 
guard began to cross. The General and staff had the inten- 
tion of pushing through the same night to Agimmanu, under 
escort of the General's policemen, thus securing leisure for 
the composition of their despatches to-morrow. I accom- 
panied them, and a weary walk it was, Just at dusk we 
reached this place, dead beat. A quarter of a mile from camp 
I was overtaken by the cheeriest of officers, who had travelled 
all the way in his hammock, and stepped out of it " fresh as 
a daisy." He began to chat about dissolution of Parliament, 
the intentions of Government, and such like pleasant topics, — 
to me, who marched as in a dream, mechanically putting one 
foot before the other. I somewhat appreciated the vehe- 
mence of Hotspur on a like occasion, though far was my 



TRAVELLING WITH WOUNDED. 363 



friend from the imputation of carpet-knighthood. Having 
sent on my boys an hour in advance, I hoped to find tea 
ready, at least ; but they were yet discoursing of Coomassie 
and its wonders to a crowd of open-mouthed Fantees. I find 
it recorded in my diary that I wished to murder them. At 
Agimmanu we regained our tents and heavy baggage, and I 
dined in immense comfort with hospitable confreres of 
the f Standard ' and ( Illustrated London News/ There was 
heavy rain all night, and the Rifles and 42nd, left behind at 
the river, had for the second time a miserable camp on the 
Dha bank. 

7th. Having finished my despatches, I started at 3 p.m. 
with a train of sick and wounded, under medical charge. 
J ust as we left, the remaining troops marched in. The General 
waits till to-morrow. Thirty or forty hammocks were in our 
convoy, under charge of Dr. Mackinnon, P.M.O., and Drs. 
Jackson, Wolfries, and Kynsey. At leaving Agimmanu, three 
prisoners were released, gently but literally kicked back to- 
wards their capital. Three more, of greater importance, the 
Navals carry with them. One of them is a prince, whom we 
call Bosomnogo, the most courteous and charming of savages. 
Tied to him is a captain, Cocoforo, with the " c " strongly 
aspirated. Both of them were captured in the act of removing 
guns and powder from the palace, after bringing to the 
General a message from the King. The prince has an excel- 
lent face, very good-looking and intelligent. There is some- 
thing quite high-bred about his manner, but the Ashantees 



3^4 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



especially pride themselves upon their courtesy. When taken, 
he wore a bracelet of strung nuggets, sandals heavily plated 
with gold, and in his hand a bag of dust worth nearly 
£500; so, at least, he complained to Monsieur Bonnat. 
Both he and the captain were dressed in clothes of native 
manufacture, strikingly clean, and arranged like an ancient 
toga. They were white, handsomely marked with a blue 
pattern. The prince showed himself particularly indignant at 
the manner in which he was carried down. " Here am 1" 
said he to Monsieur Bonnat, " a prince of Ashantee, tied like 
a slave to one of my captains. That third man is only a 
warrior ! It is infamous ! " Monsieur Bonnat reminded 
him that the Ashantees had kept their prisoners, whites and 
one a woman, seven weeks in irons, without any cause at all. 
But an Ashantee prince could not see the parallel. 

On the way down we met Captain Butler, going to rejoin 
Sir Garnet with a miserable tale. From Mr. Lowe, who 
was selected for that service when Captain Butler applied 
for a fighting doctor, I have received full details of the 
disgraceful story of his Akim expedition. He reached 
Prahsu Akim in twenty-eight hours of marching, and 
found Captain Butler, with Captain Brabazon and Lieu- 
tenant M'Gregor, on one side the ford, while the Akims 
were comfortably encamped on the other — the protected 
bank, of course. They had three kings, Cobin Afua, 
Xoffee Denkera, and Daku. After three days' delay these 
valorous monarchs crossed, not for business, but for a pala- 



CAPTAIN B UTLER'S INVASION. 365 



ver. With much urging and many threats, they promised to 
get their men over by 2 p.m. But at the appointed time no 
preparations for departure were visible, and the English 
officers resolutely set out to rejoin Sir Garnet, leaving the 
wretched crew to their own devices. The kings, much 
alarmed, pursued them with prayers and protestations, but 
they marched back to Burnassi, seven miles in our territory. 
Thither king Daku sent a message, swearing by all his gods 
he would cross next morning. Captain Butler was persuaded 
to return, but, on reaching the camp, he found things in their 
ordinary condition, and not one man across the river. Then, 
whilst the other officers went over that hateful ford, Mr. 
Lowe lost patience. He ran a muck amongst the cooking 
pots, the huts and shanties of the camp, smashing and level- 
ling everything he could reach. Instantly the crowd, as if 
they had only been awaiting this demonstration, rushed into 
the river, and began their tumultuous invasion. But at every 
camp the same violence had to be repeated, with less and 
less acquiescence from the chiefs. On the 27th, when 
Lieutenant Paget joined them, the force took a village called 
Akina, feebly defended by the Ashantees. Thence the 
Akims declined to advance, and when, on the 31st, they 
heard the sound of our heavy firing at Amoaful, their kings 
waited upon Captain Butler, and informed him that they 
meant to return at once. With calm decision this announce- 
ment was made, and no arguments or threats could shake 
their resolution. That night they began their retreat, and 



3 66 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



the officers had no choice but to follow. The Ashantees 
showed a thorough knowledge of their foes when they con- 
centrated all their strength to meet the white troops only. 

It was a dreadfully slow march we had, with so many 
hammocks to look after. Night fell when we were still a 
long way from Amoaful, and in that forest it was a darkness 
to be felt. A horrid fear dwelt dumb in every one's mind. 
We had passed several corpses on the road itself whilst day- 
light lasted, corpses that had been lying near a week under an 
African sun. Suppose that in the dark one stumbled — the 
idea is too horrible to dwell on even now. There was not a 
candle or lantern with the convoy. For an hour and a half 
we had to feel the path, each one touching the man in front. 
Every moment the word came back, " A fallen tree ! " " A 
root ! " to warn those behind of mischances in the van. But 
not then had I to learn what indomitable pluck dwells in our 
medical service. One or two of the doctors, elderly men, had 
scarcely strength left to walk, but I declare there were jokes 
made, and laughter rang out beneath that pitchy canopy of 
leaves. At 8 p.m. almost we answered the challenge of the 
sentry, and came into the welcome blaze of his bonfire. I 
went to seek Colonel Webber, the commandant, whilst the 
doctors had yet to stow their patients comfortably away. 

Amoaful was not to be recognized. Colonel Webber, 
who was found unwell, — much to my regret — had levelled 
every house excepting two or three which guarded his left 
flank. Long sheds had been built in rows outside the fort, 



THE SIX HEROES OF W ASS AW. 



367 



to accommodate our returning troops. The garrison of 2nd 
W. I. camped inside the stockade, under canvas. Under one 
of the sheds I took up quarters for the night, during which 
some of Bait's Houssas looted two brass pans and a pitcher- 
basin which made part of my boys' Ashantee spoil. To- 
morrow., the General will be here, and the camp breaks up. 

8th. We woke to-day in a real Scotch mist. Decidedly, 
the rainy season begins on this high land much earlier than 
at the coast. The nearest comrade of my bivouac proved to 
be Mr. Dawson, a tall man, nearly if not quite black, with 
patient expression. It seems that he has made nearly all his 
fellow- prisoners, seventy in number, to carry, and well loaded 
they are. I should like to overhaul those packages. One 
prisoner is an old, old woman, who travels in a cloth suspended 
upon a pole. Four men relieve each other in bearing her. 
I could not ascertain whether it was a work of charity on 
their part, or no. Started early in the forenoon with Captain 
Orubbe and his sailors, Colonel Mostyn, 23rd, and his de- 
tachment. Without adventure we reached Akhankuarsi, 
passing Quahman full of 1st W.I. regiment, and Insarful 
garrisoned by convalescent sailors. In the afternoon, great 
excitement, and a rush from all parts of the camp towards 
the fort. The alarm is caused by six black heroes, who have 
marched in under shelter of a great Union Jack. Our ser- 
vants and carriers loudly proclaim them spies, and they 
undergo some rough usage before it is credited that they are 
Wassaws, who have gallantly passed all through the hostile 



3 68 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



country. They bear another message from the Adansi people^ 
representing that they are anxious to cross our frontier and 
find refuge in the Protectorate. These Wassaws had come 
all alone from their homes flying their Union Jack. 

9th. Prince Bosomnogo complains of a tumour in the 
groin, and innocently proposes that he be sent back. Captain 
Cocofoco and the " common warrior " are to be hostages for 
him. As Captain Grubbe fails to see the advantage "of this 
proposition, a tent is slung upon a pole, and the prince climbs 
into it with great courtesy. All the villages along this part 
of our route are burnt, but by whom does not appear. The 
rains have brought out a species of gigantic worm, often a foot 
and a half in length, which meanders like a snake along the 
path. The river at Kiangboassu rose twelve feet during 
the floods, but it has greatly subsided. Travelling with the 
Naval Brigade, I reached Foomanah about breakfast time. 
This town also is levelled, except the palace of the Adansi 
king, now used as a hospital. This building it was which 
the Ashantees nearly reached in their attack upon the place. 
The patients defended it. No contemptible residence is the 
king of Adansi' s, and it is no wonder that potentate, camping 
in the wet bush, desires to return. The number of courtyards 
and their ornament interest us, but we are particularly struck 
— being doctors here — with the admirable arrangements for 
sanitation. In this respect, the Ashantees have but little to 
learn. In fact, we have taken a hint or two from them. I found 
here Lieutenant Grant, 6th regiment, who distinguished him- 



KOFFEE KALCALLI WANTS PEACE. 369 



self during the action, Drs. Lowe, Catherwood, and Suttle, 
with Commissioners Lundy and Hamilton. The medical 
staff was preseutly reinforced by Dr. Mackinnon, P.M.O., 
Drs. Jackson, Wolfries, Kynsey, Waters, and more besides. 
Major KusselPs regiment is here. Colonel Wood has passed 
the hill. 

10th, I am awaiting the promised visit of tne King of Adansi, 
who sent a flag of truce three days ago to the commandant 
of this place, requesting permission to deliver up his arms. 
The General has just arrived, with the intention of staying 
until the 13th inst., induced to this delay by a message from 
King Koffee. His Ashantee Majesty, who has not yet 
ventured back to his capital, reiterates his urgent wish for 
peace, and regrets that he cannot express all his ideas upon 
the subject, having no longer a scribe in his service. Sir 
Garnet replied verbally, that he would remain two clear days 
on the frontier, to give the king an opportunity of sending a 
great chief down to palaver. But though it is a duty not to 
miss the chance, few entertain serious hopes of an arrangement. 
The king, I take it, is quite clever enough to understand that 
we have done our worst, and why, when his capital is burnt, 
and the returning enemy within three miles of his frontier, 
why should he voluntarily engage to give a heavy sum, the 
payment of which, seven days since, would have saved half 
his humiliation ? If the king would not make terms to save 
his palace, it seems very improbable that he should do so 
now. They have heard nothing at headquarters of any pro- 

2 B 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



position from the king of Adansi, except the information 
furnished by Colonel Colley. We are told that he lies with 
1500 men, a mile or two in rear of this place, waiting an 
opportunity to surrender ; but how this should be known 
passes investigation. 

It appears that the king never approved the abandonment 
of the Adansi hills. He wished to make the fight there, 
but was overruled by his captains and fetishmen, having no 
experience of war. They answered to him with their heads 
for the defeat of the white man, and pointed out that if the 
fight came off so near the frontier, the defeated would probably 
escape with a great part of their baggage. To these consi- 
derations, the king unwillingly gave way. The road is still 
unsafe between Akrofoomuh and Essiaman. A man of the 
2nd W.I. lately lost his head there, as did an engineer 
labourer. An English engineer was wounded whilst laying 
the telegraph wire, and two officers with him had to retreat 
very hastily. 

Wth. The staff has abandoned what small hope they had 
of an accommodation, so, last evening, I strolled on to Quisa, 
whither the 42nd and Rifles moved the previous evening, and 
at 6.35 a.m. this morning resumed the march. Crossing the 
Adansi hill, I learned with poignant regret that poor 
Richmond was down again, with fever in its worst form. 
At Moynsey, Colonel Wood appeared, in the camp 
he was first to occupy. Breakfast at the well-remembered 
camp of Paratomee, served upon the rustic table I built 



THE CONTROL SERVICE. 



37 * 



for Colonel Webber, when his guest. Very neat and 
clean are these camps, which I remember in their pristine 
state. 

Reached Akrofoomuh, 12.45 p.m. There are some com- 
plaints about the Control service, but very, very few, through- 
out the expedition. Nearly all the rice boxes yield short 
measure, nor is it understood how the carriers, though ever 
so well inclined, could steal from every case. Some of them 
have given but 361bs. to 401bs. instead of 501bs. I believe 
there is to be an investigation of this matter at Cape Coast. 
Two boxes of reserve ammunition served out to the Rifles 
were found to contain gun-cotton. One box of " medical 
comforts," labelled to hold two dozen of port wine, actually 
produced only three bottles. Another was filled entirely with 
saw-dust. But, on the whole, there appears to be less 
ground of complaint than in any campaign I ever saw or 
heard of. 

Prahsu, Feb. 13th. 
It now appears that Captain Glover's expedition, of 
which we had heard nothing for weeks, was by no means the 
failure supposed. He gallantly marched through the hostile 
country along his route, and, as long ago as the 27th ult., 
found himself only ten miles from Coomassie, to the north- 
east. It will be remembered that the Ashantees marched 
out twenty miles, and fought us on the 31st, and again on 
the 4th, a further proof, if proof was needed, how courageous 
are these savages. They appear to have treated their black 

2 b 2 



372 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



enemies with utter contempt. Captain Glover had several 
smart engagements, in which his 900 Houssas behaved with 
their customary pluck, and the Fantees with their usual 
cowardice. Of the latter he had nearly 4000. When the news 
of our success reached the camp, by means of prisoners, Captain 
Sartorius immediately selected 20 men for an escort, and 
pushed through to the ruined capital. He met nobody on 
the way or in the streets, and came up to Sir Garnet without 
opposition on the 12th instant. The palace had but one wall 
standing, and that split in every direction. In all Coomassie, 
as was reported, only three small houses remained uninjured. 
The following day, Captain Glover passed over the same 
ground, where his worthless mob fairly blocked the road, 
marching anyhow. They will proceed along the Akim road 
homewards, whilst Captain Glover and his doctor push on. 
From Cape Coast he goes immediately to the Volta to dis- 
band his army, whilst Mr. Goldsworthy takes advantage of 
the universal consternation to exact satisfactory terms of 
peace from the Awoonahs and the other fast allies of 
Ashantee. 

Colonel Festing is in command here, and has made himself 
as popular as at Dunquah. The principal amusement in camp 
appears to be searching carriers. At the head of the bridge 
a guard of West Indians is stationed, who arrest and strip all 
Fantees before crossing. A tent full of silk and miscellaneous 
loot has been already recovered. There is a good story 
current — true also, qui plus est — touching Kossus and West 



PATROL ADVENTURE. 



373 



Indians. The road between Akrofoomuh and Essiaman being 
so unsafe, it has been found desirable to patrol it from either 
station. The advancing guards met, Kossu and West 
Indian — heard one another moving — challenged not at 
all — but mutually fired volleys. Bolting home after 
this, they each reported a vast army of Ashantees on the 
road. 

Cape Coast Castle, February 22nd. 
It has doubtless been felt at home, as here for a time, 
that the Ashantee expedition was not a perfect success, though 
our military operations had been thoroughly triumphant. 
There was another object in view, besides the punishment of 
a troublesome people — reasonable assurance of future peace. 
I am happy to say that this reproach can no longer be levelled 
against the campaign by its cavillers. Almost immediately 
after the burning of Coomassie, unexpected overtures were 
made by the king to Sir Garnet He sent to declare that his 
heart was still friendly to England, and that he desired no 
better than to conclude a peace on the terms originally offered. 
The General has, no doubt, sound reasons for keeping those 
terms a secret, and it is not worth while to repeat the 
rumours current. I only know that hostages of importance 
were demanded— no lesser persons than the queen mother 
and the heir apparent — together with a moderate in- 
demnity. Whilst entertaining little hope of an accom- 
modation — now that the king has lost all he fought for, 
and can expect no worse-— the General thought t his duty 



374 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



to hold fast the chance, and replied that he would wait two 
clear days at Foomanah. He added that the king's sincerity- 
would not be credited unless a sum of 5000 oz. of gold was 
immediately forwarded by the hand of some great chief. On 
the night of the 16th inst., to universal surprise — not the 
least, I think, amongst Sir Garnet and his staff, though they 
preserved a decorous gravity — a flag of truce came in, pre- 
ceding a chief very much excited, and a little train of carriers. 
The king's message was that he could not raise the guarantee 
at such short notice, but would make up what was wanting in 
a short time. Meanwhile, he sent his personal ornaments, to 
the weight of 1040 oz., and begged that the treaty might be 
sent to him for signature. It was hastily draughted and 
given to the messenger (as soon as the tale of weight had 
been verified), and a fortnight given for its return. Very- 
curious and handsome proved to be the Ashantee regalia, 
which were immediately packed again for transport to England. 
Since these events we have heard no more, nor could 
we hear, for the General immediately left Foomanah, and 
came down to the coast by double marches, picking up on his 
way a Russian prince, who has come too late to observe our 
method of bush fighting. 

Of the future there is nothing to tell. I believe Sir Garnet 
has no instructions to alter the existing arrangements, but 
he waits the arrival of Mr. Berkeley, who comes hither from 
Sierra Leone, and is expected to arrive about the 1st proximo 
Some days will then be occupied in transferring the govern- 



RECEPTION AT GO VERNMENT HO USE. 375 



ment and instructing the General's successor in the latest 
development of affairs here. The 23rd Regiment has already 
left in the ' Tamar.' To-morrow the ' Himalaya 3 takes off the 
Rifles and the Engineers. The 42nd leaves on Tuesday, as 
at present arranged. Sir Garnet's return to Cape Coast, on 
the 19th inst. was the greatest gala ever known on this dreary 
shore. We erected a triumphal arch, decked with ragged 
flowers. We hung out all our wealth of flags ; the Castle 
and the fleet saluted ; and the population showed its strength 
in numbers and lung, by jostling, screaming, perspiring, and 
hurrahing with an enthusiasm not to be described. So great 
was the excitement that a bride, just married with extra- 
ordinary pomp, was deserted by the bridegroom and all her 
four bridesmaids, mother, sisters, and servants — left absolutely 
alone in veil and orange blossoms at the breakfast table for 
half an hour. Then came a reception in Government House, 
when General and staff in their war-worn uniforms, damp and 
dirty from the march, had to receive the Cape Coast ladies, 
white, coloured, and black. I did not hear any words spoken 
by the deputation, but Sir Garnet smiled upon them, put 
them into seats, shook hands pleasantly, and after awhile 
they silently departed. The black ladies, however, proved 
the most interesting. They filed in, with snowy bands of 
linen across their heads, silk cloths well girt, and a profusion 
of golden ornaments. With many unintelligible welcomes, 
they took the General's hand, and each in turn, gracefully 
bowing with arms outstretched, went 3 own upon her knees, 



376 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



and brushed his feet with her forehead. Sir Garnet did not 
know how to receive this demonstration, and was evidently 
relieved when the last of them passed out, hysterically ad- 
dressing the company. There is talk of a public dinner, but 
I don't think it will come off. 

Feb. 26th. Never, I suppose, was loot so miscellaneous as 
that we brought down from Coomassie. Many times, in one or 
other hemisphere, has an English army sacked some barbarous 
capital, and carried off the treasures stored therein, but never 
such, I think, as those we found in the Ashantee palace. An 
Indian rajah has precious stones, rich furniture, an endless 
variety of valuable rubbish. China has silks and porcelain 
and works of antique art. More savage nations offer curios 
alone. But Ashantee loot is unique. One seeks amongst it 
for some cheap trifle to be valued only as a souvenir; but 
there is no trifle except in the precious metals. One seeks a 
work of art ; and the solitary specimen in stock is priced at 
£100. Then, thinks the speculator, I will buy some of these 
gold nuggets, some of these savage masks, some of these 
barbarous ornaments, at cost price of metal. But lo ! gold 
has gone up to £3 10s. the sovereign, and speculator retires 
dismayed from the competition. Thinks he, I must get beads 
or silken cloths : but here comes in the wary native, and, whilst 
he hesitates to risk a shilling on some ancient string of beads,, 
that black lady in his rear has offered pounds. Unless the 
speculator's purse be abnormally long, he soon withdraws 
from a contest in which he could only hope to get something 



COMPETITION FOR THE LOOT. 377 



valuable at three times its worth, or to buy what Englishmen 
call trash at its mere weight in gold. For the Ashantees have 
but one metal for ornaments, and their notion is to use it 
freely. And they know but one precious stone, the Aggry 
bead* Their silken cloths, only useful to us for counter- 
panes or table-cloths, are made to last three generations, 
handsome to the end. Their gold is either too big for ordi- 
nary purses, or, if in small bits, is run by competition to sixty 
shillings the sovereign weight. And their cloths have only 
an adequate value for those who wear things similar. Thus 
it happens that white man and native stare amazed at each 
other's bidding in such a sale . "What ! " cries the former, 
" £5 for that dirty old rag, worn and torn and discoloured? 
£20 for that string of old chipped beads ! " " What ! " 
mutters the latter, " a strung nugget weighing but oz. 
going at £101" And each thinks the other mad. Of 
course, it isn't so. The white man is snapping at a chance 
of getting some souvenir at the price he can afford ; the 
black is making an excellent bargain. White and black don't 
understand each other, nor ever will. But each behaves 
reasonably enough according to the end he has in view. It 
is just a contradiction which must occur in the auction of 
Ashantee loot. 

There were many hesitations before the sale was fixed to 
take place here. Most of the officers interested had an idea 
that London would give better prices ; and it was too certain 
that all could not be present. But I feel sure that the 



378 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



General's ultimate decision was a wise one. The cloths and 
the Aggry beads, which make such a respectable figure in our 
total, would have gone for less pence in England than crowns 
they have fetched at the Coast, and no one can suppose that 
the gold would possibly have realised more than it has. 
London will enjoy its chance when the king's regalia are 
sold; his bracelets, a score of them, weighing four or five 
pounds, pure metal ; his necklaces, fetishes, nondescript 
articles, all of gold. To offer such things to us here was obvi- 
ously absurd. No soldier's purse could afford him a keep- 
sake worth two or three hundred pounds at the Mint. So 
the indemnity jewels were withdrawn, and our sale has been 
confined to the loot actually taken at Coomassie, or given up 
by officers, or retaken from Fantee carriers on the road down. 
A very handsome show it made when set out for view in the 
palaver-hall of the Castle last Sunday. This hall, where poor 
Sir Charles Macarthy held his last court, where Mr. Maclean, 
that man much maligned, held quiet councils, and gave cool 
orders, which kept peace along all this coast when not a soldier 
stood at his back — this hall has for months past borne a 
label at its door, — " Transport Office." It stands in the middle 
of the great court, which is in shape a triangle, facing the sea. 
A handsome double flight of steps leads to the floor below, and 
branches off on either side to the verandah fronting that storey. 
From this landing, a broad single flight leads to the grand 
entrance, but there is a wide door opposite opening on a 
spacious verandah in the rear. The apartment is very solidly 



THE LOOT ON VIEW. 



379 



built and lofty, whitewashed all over except on the green- 
painted door jambs, and the frames of its eight big windows. 
Fifty feet by thirty, perhaps, it measures. At the upper end 
a small council- chamber opens from it, in which, be sure, 
an anxious group has whispered eagerly together, whilst 
the hall without was filled with affrighted chiefs, and 
through the windows came the sharp, faint smell of Ashantee 
fires. 

That is all over now. Never again will defenders of Cape 
Coast Castle run to their posts over living bodies, packed too 
close to move, prostrate in utter fear. Never again will 
Ashantees swarm to the castle wall, and shoot the gunners 
in their embrasures ; for all that table-load of fantastic gear 
is the spoil of invincible Coomassie, the glittering helmets of 
its king, the ornaments of his court, the fetishes in which he 
trusted. The accoutrements of his ancestors, the drums and 
horns which struck terror into the foe, perhaps the umbrellas 
unfurled not once nor twice against this castle itself, are 
there, or buried in the rubbish heap once called the palace. 
Fantee girls whisper and laugh, examining those trophies 
which to see would have been death three months ago. The 
sword has passed over Ashantee, the spoil has been gathered, 
and it remains only to divide it. 

A sketch of the display on Sunday would lead me into 
much repetition, having to describe the sale itself. It need 
only be said that the long centre table was covered as 
thickly as it could bear with jewellery and gold. On 



3 8o 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



a side-table stood the king's plate. Against a broad screen 
hung swords, and cartouche belts of leopard skin, and canes 
with huge silver heads, and calabashes bound in gold and 
silver, and embossed brass pans. Beneath lay the stools, so 
placed that their fine silver bosses and adornments could all 
be seen in one glittering display. Under the tables a mis- 
cellany of odds and ends were piled. At the other end of 
the room cloths and silks were disposed, neatly wrapped up 
and labelled, one on another, hundreds of them. The prize 
agents, Capts. Buller and Grosvenor and Dr. Fegan, R.N., 
had shown considerable taste in the arrangement of their 
stores, but it is easy to make a fine display of things taste- 
fully coloured. And gold is always pretty. Up to the last 
it was doubtful whether the heaps of beads contained any of 
those precious and mysterious kinds called Aggry and Popo* 
The Fantee interpreters and clerks assisting, unanimously 
declared each bead submitted to their judgment to be Bir- 
mingham, but the prize agents called the ladies of Cape 
Coast to their aid, and it speedily was announced that hun- 
dreds of the finest sorts would be found amongst our plunder. 
Great excitement followed this discovery, for an Aggry bead 
is to a Fantee woman, or indeed to a Cape Coast lady, what 
a diamond is to us. The sale opened on Monday at 10.30 
a.m., with the disposal of the cloths and silks. Few officers 
put in an appearance, or only showed themselves to go away 
on learning the matter in hand. But the hall was crammed 
with natives, those of better class, and the ladies, standing 



THE FIRST DATS SALE. 



381 



behind a rope stretched between the two doors. The silks, 
though all worn, all dirty, and many ragged, fetched fair 
prices. They were mostly dark of ground, with a width of 
chequers and stripes worked on them at intervals. Some 
specimens of real embroidery turned up, generally birds or 
monsters in needlework upon an English silk. The native 
loom will only spin a breadth of about four inches, each of 
which must be sewn together. The highest price I saw given 
was £6 10s. for a dark brown wrapper worked in long 
triangles of black and green and white, very dirty. A most 
curious piece, embroidered with strips of leather, very thin, 
white, and fastened only at one end, went to an officer for 
eighteen shillings. A robe of dark green velvet, chequered 
in the native loom apparently, drew £3 15s. from a coloured 
gentleman, who, when asked for the money, loudly and 
proudly declared that he was one of the J ustices of the Peace 
for Anamaboo. I think this price would be about the 
average of the silks. A few cotton cloths next were sold, 
finding purchasers amongst the poorer class at back of the 
hall. They bid eagerly, keeping up an excited chatter which 
no effort of the prize agents could stop. Your Fantee cannot 
talk; his utterance is always a scream or whine. Amusing 
little scenes took place during this popular part of the enter- 
tainment. The money often proved to be not forthcoming, 
and that famous farce, " Lend me five shillings ! ;; was per- 
formed at the top of their voice by half-a-dozen excited 
comedians at once. One droll little scene I watched. A 



382 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL 



cotton cloth put up drew the winning bid of fifteen shillings, 
cheap enough too. The collecting clerk made his voice 
heard above the uproar, "Who bought this?" Beaming 
with innocence and joy, the purchaser crushes through and 
thrusts out his empty hand to receive the spoil. " Money ? " 
exclaims the clerk. Amazement, perplexity, and confusion ! 
Clerk and purchaser scream a duet for some minutes, and 
back the latter pushes, on borrowing bent. Comes back after 
five minutes with three-and-sixpence. More screaming 
on both sides. Sorrowful at such want of confidence, 
the purchaser again retires. Joy beams in his face as he 
returns to my sight, very hot, very much crushed, I should 
say, but triumphant. Shilling by shilling, over my shoulder, 
he counts out threepenny bits to the number of forty-eight. 
" I want three shillings more ! 33 shouts the angry clerk. 
Impossible ! The coins are reckoned again and yet again 
— but still they only make twelve shillings. Vastly in- 
dignant, as it appears, the purchaser makes a fourth journey 
back, and only after a long absence, reappears panting with 
the balance. 

Of course the sale doesn't stop for such small fun, and 
we reach the gold and ornaments. First worthy of particular 
notice is the king's bracelet, a string of nuggets, aggry beads, 
charms, and nondescript articles of gold. It is bought by 
the doctor of the 42nd Regiment for £114. Another, much 
smaller, brings only £17, Then two or three skull caps or 
helmets are offered. One of them, black leather adorned with 



PRICES OF GOLDEN ORNAMENTS. 383 



thin gold plates, fetches £10, but a second, magnificently 
decorated with figures armed for the fight, fetches £26. Two 
pretty shells of thick gold, weighing eight ounces, are reason- 
able enough at £31 10s. Bracelets and nick-nacks follow, 
curious and valuable but ill-made, such as gold bells, gold 
shells, gold network, shapeless bits of gold. These run at £8 
to £10 the ounce. The smallest of the masks is then put up, 
a hideous object, but weighing twenty-three ounces of pure 
gold, and not very dear therefore at £102. We have no hint 
as to the use of these things, four of which have been brought 
down. They are too small for a man to wear, and have besides 
no apertures for sight or breathing. The king's knife is 
offered, a common blade enough, but worn in a sheath heavily 
plated with gold, gold hilted, and carrying an appendage of 
nuggets and charms by four gold chains. It weighs nearly 
twenty ounces, knife and hilt left out, and the buyer certainly 
secured a curiosity at £.114. A dozen small rings of gold, 
weighing half an ounce each, go at £5 a-piece. Then a 
handsome necklace appears, of gold charms and aggry beads, 
and scarlet feathers, which counts for £54. More golden 
absurdities at a killing price, and we reach the stools above 
spoken of. The handsomest, a beautiful piece of furniture, 
snow-white, delicately carved, and bound on every side with 
silver embossed work, cannot be called dear at £25, when the 
oldest and poorest fetches half that money. The most 
beautiful of all the stools discovered goes to England as a 
present to the Prince of Wales, and it will not be out of 



384 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



place however magnificent its surroundings. After an ancient 
sword ; with a handle thickly plated in gold, which the 
Russian prince buys at £10 105., and a war-horn of ivory, 
quite plain, which brings £8 to the fund, we adjourn half- an - 
hour for lunch. 

On returning I find that the native element has vanished, 
and comfort reigns. Captain Buller, perched on a table, is 
selling plate. That fine old Queen Anne tankard which I 
noticed in the palace, has sold for £15, and the attention of 
the public is directed to another, less old, but curious, which 
brings £10. Other fine old bits of plate command long 
prices. There is a side dish of great age, mended by native 
goldsmiths in every part, which seems to be rather dear at 
£31 10s., but there may be connoisseurs amongst us. A fine 
old coffee-pot, worn into holes by years, not use, having no 
handle and not much spout, produces £16 15s., whilst two 
neat little candlesticks, not marked, and possibly of native make, 
go for £6 10s. The covered tankard, alleged to have been Sir 
C. Macarthy's, weighing twenty ounces odd, is bought in all 
innocence for £10, for there are few or none in the room that 
know its presence amongst our loot. Not for some hours 
after is inquiry made, and the purchaser knows his good 
fortune. The initials can with difficulty be made out, but, when 
the clue is given, " MacC." is apparent to all but the most 
sceptical, and criticism concentrates itself upon the first letter, 
which, indeed, may be anything. But it has always been 
understood that the cup, which was a fetish drinking vessel of 



THE CHIEF EXECUTIONER'S GIRDLE. 385 



the kiDg and his ancestors, bore Sir Charles's initials, and the 
coincidence would be strange if he possessed another tankard 
so old and so valuable, engraved "MacC." It has been 
mended at the handle. After the plate was sold, or enough 
of it for the day and the " gallery," interest languished 
amongst innumerable golden toys, not pretty, nor very curious, 
but inordinately dear under such competition. The girdle of 
the chief executioner, a belt of large silver sheaths, empty, 
and never meant to bear knives, fetched only £Q 16s., though 
it was one of the most extraordinary objects sold. This 
girdle is worn over the left shoulder of that great officer — a 
hideous ruffian, we saw him in Coomassie — before the 
king, on ordinary occasions. But when his Majesty is 
out of temper, or when he means war, the executioner 
buckles it round his waist. The king's collection of 
engravings, some of them very fine old prints, sold 
reasonably well, at from £7 10s. to £1. These cheaper 
articles were coloured lithographs of women in national 
dress, such as anywhere may be seen. And the first day's 
sale ended. 

Next morning, as had been announced, the distribution of 
beads began, and the women of Africa mustered strongly. It 
did not appear to the observer that these dames could have 
need of more aggrys or more gold. They wore massive gold 
combs in their wool, rolled up to a cushion on the head, gold 
butterflies above the forehead, five or six gold chains about 
vthe neck, ear-rings, six aggry bracelets, anclets, rings, and 

2c 



3 86 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



what treasures beneath the outer robe I know not. For these 
were great women in the land, wives and mothers of chiefs. 
But whether they needed more or not, more they were resolved 
to have, if only it could be got at that elastic price which 
ladies call a bargain. And there were black men, too, of the 
class which sports a white hat and a twopenny umbrella, but 
few officers. The sale began at 10.30 a.m., but before telling 
its accidents I must refer to yesterday, when I unaccountably 
omitted to describe the oddest article of our loot. This was 
a crowded group of figures, eight inches by two, in bronze or 
copper, showing the king's procession on his state progress 
through Coomassie. In front are armour bearers and people 
prostrate. Then the executioners and attendants, each por- 
trayed with his appropriate emblem ; that is, I suppose they 
were portrayed and appropriate, but the dirt lay so thick on 
this unique effort of African art that one can't speak with 
certainty. Then the king, borne upon heads of slaves, with 
his great umbrella over him. After him chiefs, under less 
umbrellas, and swordsmen and slaves and populace. It was 
indeed a most extraordinary moulding, full of spirit, and such 
as one cannot believe to have come from negro hands. The 
Russian prince bought it for .£100. Let us return to the 
aggry beads. No one exactly knows where this jewel of 
West Africa was made. It is dug from the earth, somewhere 
in the interior, and forms part, no doubt, of sepulchral orna- 
ments. It is of various shapes, and shows almost every com- 
bination of colour, but fashion ordains that the yellow varieties 



AGGRY BEADS. 



337 



shall be most esteemed. Endless are the patterns upon the 
ground colour, stripes, and spots, and rosettes, and a little 
device which looks like a flower. Most observers have con- 
cluded that the material is porcelain, and many believe that 
the pattern is produced by mosaic work. It certainly goes 
all through, and this peculiarity it is which drives European 
imitators to their wits' end. But I feel perfectly sure that 
the mosaic appearance is caused only by immense lapse of 
time, during which the bead has been exposed, without pro- 
tection, to the disintegration of earthy salts. And the material 
is glass, if ever glass there was. In fact, the aggry bead, so 
famous and so valuable, is of that substance which has been 
called "Egyptian porcelain/' and every Nile traveller has 
had offered him for sixpence, a dozen of the beads worth five 
to ten shillings apiece on the West Coast. Sufficient on this 
score. There are thousands of aggrys in the British Museum, 
and vases and " tear-bottles " in the same substance. There 
have been those who wrote big folios to prove that the murene 
vase, far-famed, was only an elaborate specimen of the aggry 
manufacture. Our Coomassie beads certainly sold well. The 
highest price given for a string numbering fifty perhaps, was 
£24; next, £19. 10s. The lowest rate I observed was 
£7. 7s. for seventeen of them. A necklace of beads and 
coral, which cost an officer of Russell's regiment £13. 10s., 
consisted of twenty-five large bits of coral, and twelve very 
large aggrys, the space between filled up with imitations. I 
heard that he was offered £6. 15s. for the aggrys alone. 



3 88 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



Another necklace, smaller, had twenty-three beads of fine 
red coral, nearly an inch long each, with seventy-seven small 
aggry beads between. It went for £11, and the lucky buyer 
instantly sold his useless aggry s for nearly the amount he had 
just paid. The fact is, our operations were too quick and too 
heavy for the native dames. They had brought gold dust and 
scales to weigh their beads, just as they would buy them from 
each other. An aggry is roughly estimated at its weight in 
gold. Such slow proceedings were of course impossible, and 
those who had money and quick decision reaped a profit, I 
have no doubt. Some Popo beads were offered, but the best 
market for them is lower down, by Lagos. The Popo is also 
found in the earth. It is glass beyond dispute, blue in 
shadow, and yellow in the light. Four fine strings were 
bought in at £2 the ounce weight, an inadequate price, but 
at Cape Coast the highest bid was £1. 18s. A bracelet con- 
taining seven beads, with two or three chips of gold, value bs. 
or thereabouts, subsequently sold for £3. 

An hour afterwards was occupied with the sale of those 
quaint brass weights which Ashantees and Wassaws use for 
measuring gold dust. They were cast in every possible form, 
fishes, and dragons, and gates, and swords, and guns, and in- 
sects, and animals. But the commonest was the human 
figure, male or female, in every possible attitude, in every 
operation of life. These brought £4. 15s. to £3. 10s. a dozen. 
Then to the gold again, a series of twelve chains, iron and 
gold links, leaf-shaped, alternately, fetching five to four 



THE WAR-CAP AND SILVER CASKET 389 



guineas each. But the pockets of our officers began to be^ 
exhausted. Nearly £3000 they had paid away, an in- 
credible sum. Already the pipes had gone at such a price as 
made men savage to have been absent j — the finest, of golden 
filagree, with bowl and mouthpiece of solid gold, at £2.2, 
and others in proportion. Those who stayed began to 
make bargains. The war-cap of the king, in which, if 
reliance be placed in Mr. Dawson and his fellow cap- 
tives, he went to meet us at Adahsu, brought only 
£7. 10s. to the fund. It was made of black leather,, 
with two thick plates in front, one gold, one silver, two 
goat's horns on the top, and a civet cat's tail hanging down 
behind. This the monarch wore when very angry, and 
the sight of it made a desert of the Coomassie market- 
place. 

I hare no space to tell the adventures of to-day's sale. 
There were more aggrys, more nick-nacks, including tongs of 
silver and gold, more costly rubbish, and more bargains. 
The great silver casket, weighing nineteen pounds some 
ounces, hall marked on back and front, inside and out, and 
on each side, with a Chubb's lock, and a beautiful case to hold 
it, fetched only £89, barely its value as old silver. Men had 
no longer the means to speculate, or were satisfied. A 
superb old salver, twenty inches across, was bought in at 
£55. Interest languished, and the attendance grew thinner 
and thinner till the end. But there were many handsome 
objects, — the royal sandals, for instance, of which we had ten 



39© 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



pair, all more or less embellished with gold or silver or 
both. Those found in the bedchamber of the king brought 
£25, and others less. The proceeds of the sale will 
certainly reach £3560, and £1000 worth has been bought 
in, to be sold in England. There is no further news. 
All the troops have now embarked, and the 23rd and 
Rifles are on their way home. The returning treaty is not 
yet due. 

Packing up is the order, packing up and going away. The 
crowd of steamers in the roadstead thins daily. The ' Tamar ' 
started for home on the 22nd, carrying back that unlucky 
regiment, the Welsh Fusiliers, who return without their goat. 
The creature falls a victim to the climate, regretted, I believe, 
by few ; he had a disposition which made him more formidable 
than becomes a pet. The Rifles sailed in the ' Himalaya/ 
two days after. The 42nd lies out in the bay on board the 
( Sarmatian/ whilst Colonel MacLeod, in the castle, frets to 
be going. They should be off to-morrow. The 'Victor 
Emanuel ' is no longer conspicuous to our eyes in the pride 
of her high poop, wide ports, and snowy awnings. The 
'Thames/ full of sick, leaves to-day, and the ' Nebraska ' 
follows within forty-eight hours, as at present settled. It is a 
happy coincidence that the epidemic lately raging down to 
leeward has ceased just in time to relieve the mail vessels from 
quarantine here. Otherwise there must have been a great 
crush, for the number of sick at this moment is beyond all 
reasonable expectation. Many of the medical staff, with a 



A GOVERNMENT BEGGING. 391 

few combatant officers, have received orders to go by the 
i Benin/ a vessel of the African Steamship Company, just 
sighted. The ' Liberia 5 is due two days hence, and she will 
take more. By each of these vessels are forwarded to 
their homes a proportion of the Kossus and Sierra Leone 
men. Tt is evident that there is the stuff of good irregular 
troops amongst these savages. Even the Sierra Leone 
men showed a good courage, when better used to the 
whistle of slugs, and the howling of the enemy. Lieutenant 
Hart reports that they carried one of the small villages in our 
final advance with considerable dash. 

I hear upon reliable authority that Mr. Berkeley, the 
Governor-in-Chief of these settlements, will not come from 
Sierra Leone to relieve Sir Garnet. Such was the plan 
three days ago, but counter-orders have been received. The 
government of Cape Coast is going a begging just at present. 
Sir Garnet, declining it himself, even for three months 
and on his own terms, received, I believe, authority to give 
it to whom he pleased ; but nobody will accept. Sir 
Archibald Alison and Colonel Greaves have both refused, and 
the post necessarily falls to Colonel Maxwell of the 1st West 
Indian regiment, who consoles himself with the knowledge 
that his relief has already left England. Probably, Captain 
Lees, who was called from Lagos to act as Colonial Sec- 
retary during the war, will ultimately get this unenviable 
berth. And no appointment would be so popular in Cape 
Coast. 



392 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL. 



On board the 1 Benin,' March 27th. 

A fine ship is the ' Benin/ handsome to look at, Al, 
1869, excellently commanded by a courteous and vigilant cap- 
tain. But, I regret to say, though very pretty, she is "not a good 
one to go." She has mysterious ailments, which defy diagnosis. 
Somewhile she glides along at ten knots the hour, and some- 
while she plunges doggedly at half the speed, whilst captain 
upbraids the engineer, and engineer gives up the problem. 
When rough weather comes, she developes an abnormal kick 
behind, which puzzles crew and frightens passengers. Within 
the last five days she has crowned all her vagaries by suddenly 
exhibiting water in the engine-room, not a cooling damp, nor 
such a gentle dripping as might sooth an imaginative fireman 
with thoughts of some bubbling brook " which softly to the 
woods all night singeth a quiet tune. " No ! the food, or 
rather drink, offered our fireman's fancy, is just a flood knee 
deep, which pumping by day and night will barely keep under. 
Another foot depth will put out the fires, and, the weight of 
water already gives her a heavy list to port. But, though 
a lady, she keeps a secret well. The whereabouts of our leak, 
if leak it be, baffles scientific investigation, nor does the 
amateur ingenuity of passengers succeed in discovering it. 
We can but stare at the pumping crew and hope things will 
get no worse. 

In another department appertaining to a good ship, we have 
no hope, but neither have we fear. The worst has already 
befallen. The African Steamship Company best knows what 



ON BOARD THE ' BENIN: 



393 



qualifications are most useful in its pursers, and experience 
may have satisfied the directors that their interest is well 
served when officers consult how best to draw the attention of 
the War Office to the vessel's management. It may be 
found beneficial to passengers' health, and generally pleasant 
for them, to paint and scrape the vessel, and to rub the 
saloon mouldings with turpentine during the voyage. Closets 
which won't work perhaps turn out profitable ; and it is 
evidently well for the health of passengers that the 
supply of wines and spirits, when exhausted, should not be 
replenished, however ample the opportunity ; yet one might 
observe in regard to this point, that a true kindness would 
commend wholesome liquor in the first instance, though in 
short quantity. But surely no good purpose can be served by 
limiting the supply of candles, so that we in the saloon have 
to sit under light of smoky lanterns from the fo'k's'le. And 
yet, it may be urged, that the incident gave a fellow passenger, 
the correspondent of the ( Graphic,' the motif for a satirical 
sketch, representing our forlorn company in Rembrandtesque 
chiaroscuro. He entitled it, " Returning in the light of 
Victory." But, on the other hand, I am informed that the 
African Steam Ship Company is not among the most pro- 
fitable of enterprises. Would it not be well to re-examine 
the system ? 

For manner no excuse is asked, nor, probably, would it be 
credited there was need thereof — but for the deficiency of 
stores an excuse is patent, palpable, and pointless. The 

2 D 



394 



DIVIDING THE SPOIL 



'Benin' had no reason to expect so many passengers ; in 
fact, on application to the authorities, the purser was informed 
that he would have none allotted him. Afterwards, twenty 
or more came aboard. Had the scarcity commenced between 
Cape Coast and Sierra Leone, or even between that port and 
Tenerifie, this fact might seriously have been pleaded. But 
our dearth reached its climax beyond Madeira, where every 
possible requisite is procurable from the Company's own 
agents But enough of this. I only wish to point out how 
the experience of the ' Ambriz ' has profited the African 
S.S. Company. 

P.S. — In writing the above I thought them the very last 
lines on that page of my wandering life which has been given 
to the Ashantee expedition. But one final word must be added. 
It might have been hoped that he who told the story of the 
' Cambrian's ' voyage — the which, I trust, some of my 
readers will recollect — would be evermore free of the Atlantic, 
on this route at least. But our peril in the ' Benin' was 
scarcely less. Had we met rough weather in the Channel, 
the vessel — well, we didn't meet rough weather ! The leak 
gained visibly, and the list to port increased. We had just 
time to reach the Mersey, before the water rose and put out 
our fires. After this, direst and last calamity to a steamer, 
nothing could be done but to lie like a log and wait for a tug- 
boat, chaffed by spruce vessels outward bound, and roared at 
by flats. Had this accident happened at sea, my book had 



TOWED INTO PORT. 395 

never been written, mayhap. We bade adieu to the 
' Benin ' and her pleasant Captain, about 10.30 p.m., when 
crowds of labourers were coming aboard to unload her by- 
torchlight, lest she sank where she lay. And thus the voyage 
ended. 



APPENDIX. 



GUIDE, 

FOE STEANGEES TEAVELLING 

TO 

COOMASSIE, 

THE CAPITAL CITY 

OF 

ASHANTEE .* 

ESTIMATED measures of Roads from Anamaboe to River Prah, and from 
River Prah to Coomassie, the Capital City of Ashantee, timed and reckoned 
by R. J. Ghartey, a Merchant of Anamaboe on his visit to Coomassie with the 
Revd. William West, and Prince John Osoo Ansab, in the month of March 
1862. average 3 miles an hour by walking or riding in hammock. 

The names of tbe towns and Villages, were originally derived from stones* 
trees, Rivers, or any other object may be in view, or the first man who built 
on the spot, such as Anamaboe ; Birds stone, a name derived from the rock in 
the sea, near the Fort on which the Birds ligbt. 

Quansah croom, means Quansah's Village, be being the first man who 
owned the Village : — 

Frama angee, this Village being built on an elevated ground, and always 



* I owe the acknowledgment to my printers that this document is printed 
in facsimile. 



2 E 



39§ 



APPENDIX. 



has the wind when blowing, it was therefore, called Frama angee, that is the 
wind never calm: instances [see Donnassie No. 15 Akuker-bonum-Insu No 
32, Assempa-Naya No 60, and Prahsu, 61] 

Having now, laid before jou the distances from the coast to River Prah: 
and from River Prah, to Coomassie, which inform you of the Villages and 
towns, numbered, sixty one from Anamaboe to Prahsu, and thirty two from 
Prahsu to Coomassie ; how are we to get an immediate communication from 
the protectorate boundary ? which is 81 miles, from Anamaboe, and 87i miles 
from Cape Coast, The only way to get the quickest communication is to set 
up posts or runners, for the purpose of conveying letters, and Messages at 
intervals, from the protectorate boundary to the coast, the intervening distance 
not exceeding 10 or 12 miles, from the station of one post to another, in the 
transposal of letters, and Messages, c< prevention is better than cure," and 
shortest, the distance quickest the reception, and oh! should this be put to 
practice forthwith, letters and Messages will reach to the coast on the second 
day, instead of three or four days journey from Prahsu. and it will bear some 
resemblance of a telegraph to us. 

(154 Copies were purchased before going to the Press.) 



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4io APPENDIX. 



INDEX. 



Names oe the Towns and Tillages eeon Anamaboe to Pbahstl 





No. 1 




No. 


Anamaboe t, — for Town . 


. 1 ' 


Dowoomakol c, . 


. 43 


Attah croom c, — for croom 


. 6 


Donnassie t, 


. 15 


Ahbol c, . 


. 9 


Dansamsu t, 


. 59 


AffiAffic, 


. 10 


Edoomassie t, . 


. 28 


Acrowful c, 


. 14 


Eddubiassie c, 


. 49 


Ahirma-Assang c, 


. 17 


Engoah c, . 


. 54 


Abbrabea c, 


. 19 


Erama Engee c, 


. 5 


Affransi c. 


. 20 


FaTSOo t, . 


. 51 


Akukor-banumsu c, 


. 32 


Hebill croom c, 


. 8 


Attorbiassie 


. 35 


Induasu c, 


. 56 


Awia-niu 


. 36 


Irnpa-Assem c. 


. 26 


Ahcbima mansu c, 


. 27 


Injelasu c, . 


. 40 


Addaworrah c . . & . 


. 39 


Karcanassie c, . . 


. 16 


Acrowfoomu c, 


. 44 


Katakiassie c, . 


. 25 


Abinna Bilmu t, 


. 45 


Kinnasu c, 


. 31 


Attoh Insu c, 


. 50 


Mansu t, . 


. 38 


Assin-Yancomassie t, 


. 52 


New village c, . 


. 18 


Amponsie Quantah c, 


. 53 


New village 


. 41 


Abcomfudie t, 


. 55 


Prabsu c, 


. 61 


Asseinpab-Naya 


. 60 


Quaw-Duagab c, 


. 23 


Bansu. e, . 

Borben c, ... 


.. 11 


Quansab croom 


. 2 


. 12 


Quatwab c, 


. 47 


Borbenwab c, 


. 13 


Quacbaicba croom c, 


. 7 


Boboomassie c, 


. 30 


Quamin Attab c, 


. 37 


Bansu c, 


. 22 


Sutab t, 


. 46 


Barraco c, . . 


• 57 


Sibbinsu c, 


. 29 


Barra sia gong c, 


. 58 


Sonqnab Towafu c, . 


. 4 


Bansu .... 


. 48 


Woncorsu c, 


. 34 


Dardargua 


. 3 


Warratchel c, . 


. 21 


Darnaan t, ... 


. 33 


Yancom-assie t, 


. 24 


Dadiasu c, ... 


. 42 







APPENDIX. 411 



Names of the Towns and Villages eeom Peahsu to Coomassie the 
capital city oe ashantee. 





No. 




No. 


Appaea c. ... 


m 1 


Daydaysiwah c, 


. 27 


Attorbiassie c, 


2 


Egginassie c, 


. 17 


Ansah c, . 


. 4 


Edunkoo c, 


. 24 


Acrowfoomu c, 


. 5 


Essiaraan c, 


. 3 


Ahquansraimu c, 


. 6 


Essang Quantah c, 


. 11 


Akkankuassie 


. 13 


Esumgah c, 


.21 


Adadwassie c, . 


. 14 


Essiagu c, 


. 29 


Amoaful t, ... 


. 18 


Eommanah t, 


. & 


Ashantee Mansu c, 


. 20 


Insarfu c, 


. 15 


Egimmamu c, . 


. 23 


Jarbinbah c, 


. 19 


Adwabin t, 


. 26 


Kiangboosu c, . 


. 10 


Ahkankuassie c, . . 


. 30 


Karsi c, . . 


. 31 


Bipposu c, ... 


. 22 


Ordasu c, ' . 


. 28 


Coomassie t, (the capital) 


. 32 


Quisah t, 


. 7 


Dompoassie t, . 


. 9 


Q.uarman 


. 16 


Detchiasu c, 


. 12 


Sackrakah c, 


. 25 



THE END. 



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7 



